British airships, past, present & future

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THE LIBRARY

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THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

GIFT OF

Pacific Aeronautical Library

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BRITISH AIRSHIPS :
PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

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RIGID AIRSHIP NO. 26 (23 CLASS)

BRITISH AIRSHIPS

PAST, PRESENT &• FUTURE

BY

GEORGE WHALE

(late major, R.A.F.j

fiVj- J:.'iy Or the

PACIFIC ALRONAUIiCAL UB'^M

DISCARDED By___p a f

LONDON :
JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD

NEW YORK : JOHN LANE COMPANY
MCMXIX

Garden City Press,
Letchworth, Herts.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I
Introduction 7

CHAPTER II

Early Airships and their Development to

THE Present Day - - - - 33

CHAPTER III

British Airships built by Private Firms - 60

CHAPTER IV
British Army iViRSiiiPS - - - - 70

CHAPTER V

Early Days of the Naval Airship Section —
parseval airships, astra-torres type,

ETC. 81

CHAPTER VI

Naval Airships : the Non-Rigids —

S.S. TYPE 95

coastal and c star airships - - 116
the north sea airship - - - 126

8bow

DiSCARDED BY P.A.L.

CHAPTER VII

Naval Airships : the Rigids — page

rigid airship no. 1 - - - - 135

rigid airship no. 9 - - - - 145

rigid airship no. 23 class - - 155

rigid airship no. 23 x class - - 167

rigid airship no. 31 class - - 171

rigid airship no. 33 class - - 174

CHAPTER VIII

The Work of the Airship in the World

War 188

CHAPTER IX

The Future of xAerships ... - 209

LIST 0/ ILLUSTRATIONS

Rigid Airship No. 26 (23 Class) frontispiece
Dropping Experimental Parachutes from

Airship . - - - to face page 30
Sectional Elevation of North Sea Airship 32
Willows' Airship, No. 4 - - - - 66
Army Airship, Nulli Secundus I - - 70
Army Airship, Nulli Secundus II - - 72

Army Airship, Beta 74

Army Airship, Gamma - - - - 76

Army Airship, Delta - - - - 78

Army Airship, Eta 80

Naval Airship, No. 4 (Parseval) - - - 84
Naval Airship, No. 8 (Astra-Torres) - - 88
S.S. Airship, B.E. 2 C Type . . - 98
S.S. Airship, S.S. P. Type - - - - 112
S.S. Airship, Zero Type - - - - 114
Coastal Airship, C 2 - - - - 116

General Arrangement of Car Suspensions

FOR Coastal Airship 118

Cross-Section of Coastal Airship - - 120
C Star Airship, C Star 1 - - - - 124
North Sea Airship, N.S. 7 - - - - 126
Rigid Airship, No. 1, The Mayfly - - 136
Rigid Airship, No. 9 - - - - - 146
Rigid Airship, No. 27 (23 X Class) - - 168
Rigid Airship, No. 31 172

BRITISH AIRSHIPS:
PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

library

CHAPTER I

Introduction

LiGHTER-THAN-AiR Craft consist of three
distinct types : Airships, which arc by far
the most important, Free Balloons, and Kite
Balloons, which are attached to the ground
or to a ship by a cable. They derive their
appellation from the fact that when charged
with hydrogen, or some other form of gas,
they are lighter than the air which they
displace. Of these three types the free
balloon is by far the oldest and the simplest,
but it is entirely at the mercy of the wind
and other elements, and cannot be controlled
for direction, but must drift whithersoever
the wind or air currents take it. On the other
hand, the airship, being provided with engines
to propel it through the air, and with rudders
and elevators to control it for direction and
height, can be steered in whatever direction
is desired, and voyages can be made from one
place to another — always provided that the

7

8 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

force of the wind is not sufficiently strong to
overcome the power of the engines. The
airship is, therefore, nothing else than a
dirigible balloon, for the engines and other
weights connected with the structure are
supported in the air by an envelope or
balloon, or a series of such chambers, accord-
ing to design, filled with hydrogen or gas of
some other nature.

It is not proposed, in this book, to embark
upon a lengthy and highly technical disserta-
tion on aerostatics, although it is an intricate
science which must be thoroughly grasped by
anyone who wishes to possess a full know-
ledge of airships and the various problems
which occur in their design. Certain tech-
nical expressions and terms are, however,
bound to occur, even in the most rudimentary
work on airships, and the main principles
underlying airship construction will be
described as briefly and as simply as is
possible.

The term " hft " will appear many times
in the following pages, and it is necessary to
understand what it really means. The dif-
ference between the weight of air displaced

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 9

and the weight of gas in a balloon or airship
is called the " gross lift." The term " dis-
posable," or " nett " lift, is obtained by-
deducting the weight of the structure, cars,
machinery and other fixed weights from the
gross lift. The resultant weight obtained by
this calculation determines the crew, ballast,
fuel and other necessities which can be
carried by the balloon or airship.

The amount of air displaced by an airship
can be accurately weighed, and varies accord-
ing to barometric pressure and the tempera-
ture ; but for the purposes of this example
we may take it that under normal conditions
air weighs 75 lb. per 1,000 cubic feet. There-
fore, if a balloon of 1,000 cubic feet volume
is charged with air, this air contained will
weigh 75 lb. It is then manifest that a
balloon filled with air would not lift, because
the air is not displaced with a lighter gas.

Hydrogen is the lightest gas known to
science, and is used in airships to displace
the air and raise them from the ground.
Hydrogen weighs about one -fifteenth as
much as air, and under normal conditions
1,000 cubic feet weighs 5 lb. Pursuing our

10 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

analogy, if we fill our balloon of 1,000 cubic
feet with hydrogen we find the gross lift is
as follows :

1,000 cubic feet of air weighs 75 lb.

1,000 cubic feet of hydrogen

weighs . . . . . . 5 „

The balance is the gross lift

of the balloon . . . . 70 lb.

It follows, then, that apart from the weight
of the structure itself the balloon is 70 lb.
lighter than the air it displaces, and pro-
vided that it weighs less than 70 lb. it will
ascend into the air.

As the balloon or airship ascends the
density of the air decreases as the height is
increased. As an illustration of this the
barometer falls, as everyone knows, the
higher it is taken, and it is accurate to say
that up to an elevation of 10,000 feet it falls
one inch for every 1,000 feet rise. It follows
that as the pressure of the air decreases, the
volume of the gas contained expands at a
corresponding rate. It has been shown that
a balloon filled with 1,000 feet of hydrogen
has a Hft of 70 lb. under normal conditions^

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 11

that is to say, at a barometric pressure of
30 inches. Taking the barometric pressure
at 2 inches lower, namely 28, we get the
following figures :

1,000 cubic feet of air weighs 70 lb.
1,000 cubic feet of hydrogen

weighs . . . . . . 4.67 „

65.33 lb.

It is therefore seen that the very con-
siderable loss of hft, 4.67 lb. per 1,000 cubic
feet, takes place with the barometric pressure
2 inches lower, from which it may be taken
approximately that 1/30 of the volume gross
lift and weight is lost for every 1,000 feet rise.
From this example it is obvious that the
greater the pressure of the atmosphere, as
indicated by the barometer, the greater will
be the lift of the airship or balloon.

Temperature is another factor which must
be considered while discussing lift. The
volume of gas is affected by temperature, as
gases expand or contract about 1/500 part
for every degree Fahrenheit rise or fall in
temperature.

12 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

In the case of the 1,000 cubic feet balloon,
the air at 30 inches barometric pressure and
60 degrees Fahrenheit weighs 75 lb., and the
hydrogen weighs 5 lb.

At the same pressure, but with the tempera-
ture increased to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the
air will be expanded and 1,000 cubic feet of
air will weigh only 70.9 lb., while 1,000 cubic
feet of hydrogen will weigh 4.7 lb.

The lift being the difference between the
weight of the volume of air and the weight
of the hydrogen contained in the balloon, it
will be seen that with the temperature at
60 degrees Fahrenheit the lift is 75 lb. - 5 lb.
== 70 lb., while the temperature, having risen
to 90 degrees, the lift now becomes 70.9 lb. -
4.7 lb. = 66.2 lb.

Conversely, with a fall in the temperature
the lift is increased. We accordingly find
from the foregoing observations that at the
start of a voyage the lift of an airship may
be expected to be greater when the tempera-
ture is colder, and the greater the barometric
pressure so will also the lift be greater. To
put this into other words, the most favour-
able conditions for the lift of an airship are

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 13

when the weather is cold and the barometer
is high.

It must be mentioned that the air and
hydrogen are not subject in the same way
to changes of temperature. Important varia-
tions in Hft may occur when the temperature
of the gas inside the envelope becomes higher,
owing to the action of the sun, than the air
which surrounds it. A difference of some 20
degrees Fahrenheit may result between the
gas and the air temperatures ; this renders
it highly necessary that the pilot should be
able to tell at any moment the relative tem-
peratures of gas and air, as otherwise a false
impression will be gained of the lifting
capacity of the airship.

The lift of an airship is also affected by
flying through snow and rain. A consider-
able amount of moisture can be taken up by
the fabric and suspensions of a large airship
which, however, may be largely neutralized
by the waterproofing of the envelope. Snow,
as a rule, is brushed off the surface by the
passage of the ship through the air, though
in the event of its freezing suddenly, while
in a melting state, a very considerable addi-

14 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

tion of weight might be caused. There have
been many instances of airships flying
through snow, and as far as is known no
serious difficulty has been encountered
through the adhesion of this substance.
The humidity of the air may also cause slight
variations in lift, but for rough calculations
it may be ignored, as the difference in lift is
not likely to amount to more than 0.3 lb.
per 1,000 cubic feet of gas.

The purity of hydrogen has an important
effect upon the lift of an airship. One of the
greatest difficulties to be contended with is
maintaining the hydrogen pure in the enve-
lope or gasbags for any length of time.
Owing to diffusion gas escapes with extra-
ordinar}^ rapidity, and if the fabric used is
not absolutely gastight the air finds its way
in where the gas has escaped. The maximum
purity of gas in an airship never exceeds 98
per cent, by volume, and the following
example shows how greatly lift can be
reduced :

Under mean atmospheric conditions,
which are taken at a temperature of 55
degrees Fahrenheit, and the barometer at

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 15

29.5 inches, the hft of 1,000 cubic feet of
hydrogen at 98 per cent, purity is 69.6 lb.
Under same conditions at 80 per cent, purity
the hft of 1,000 cubic feet of hydrogen is
56.9 lb., a resultant loss of 12.9 lb. per
1,000 cubic feet.

The whole of this statement on " lift "
can now be condensed into three absolute
laws :

1. Lift is directly proportional to baro-

metric pressure.

2. Lift is inversely proportional to abso-

lute temperature.

3. Lift is directly proportional to purity.

Airship Design

The design of airships has been developed
under three distinct types, the Rigid, the
Semi-Rigid, and the Non-Rigid.

The rigid, of which the German Zeppelin
is the leading example, consists of a frame-
work or hull composed of aluminium, wood,
or other materials from wliich are suspended
the cars, machinery and other weights, and
which of itself is sufficiently strong to support

16 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

its own weight. Enclosed within this struc-
ture are a number of gas chambers or bags
filled with hydrogen, which provide the
necessary buoyancy. The hull is completely
encased within a fabric outer cover to pro-
tect the hull framework and bags from the
effects of weather, and also to temper the
rays of the sun.

The semi-rigid, which has been exploited
principally by the ItaUans wdth their For-
lanini airships, and in France by Lebaudy,
has an envelope, in some cases divided into
separate compartments, to which is attached
close underneath a long girder or keel. This
supports the car and other weights and pre-
vents the whole ship from buckling in the
event of losing gas. The semi-rigid type has
been practically undeveloped in this country.

The non-rigid, of which we may now claim
to be the leading builders, is of many
varieties, and has been developed in several
countries. In Germany the chief production
has been that of Major von Parseval, and of
which one ship was purchased by the Navy
shortly before the outbreak of war. In the
earliest examples of this type the car was

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 17

slung a long way from the envelope and was
supported by wires from all parts. This
necessitated a lofty shed for its accommoda-
tion as the ship was of great overall height ;
but this difficulty was overcome by the
employment of the elliptical and trajectory
bands, and is described in the chapter dealing
with No. 4.

A second system is that of the Astra-Torres.
This envelope is trilobe in section, with
internal rigging, which enables the car to be
slung very close up to the envelope. The
inventor of these envelopes was a Spaniard,
Senor Torres Quevedo, who manufactured
them in conjunction with the Astra Company
in Paris. This type of envelope has been
employed in this country in the Coastal,
C Star, and North Sea airships, and has been
found on the whole to give good results. It
is questionable if an envelope of streamline
shape would not be easier to handle, both in
the air and on the landing ground, and at
present there are partisans of both types.

Thirdly, there is the streamline envelope
with tangential suspensions, which has been
adopted for all classes of the S.S. airship, and

18 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

which has proved for its purpose in every way
highly satisfactory.

Of these three types the rigid has the
inherent disadvantage of not being able to be
dismantled, if it should become compelled to
make a forced landing away from its base.
Even if it were so fortunate as to escape
damage in the actual landing, there is the
practical certainty that it would be completely
wrecked immediately any increase occurred
in the force of the wind. On the other hand,
for mihtary purposes, it possesses the ad-
vantage of having several gas compartments,
and is in consequence less susceptible to
damage from shell fire and other causes.

Both the semi-rigid and the non-rigid
have the very great advantage of being
easily deflated and packed up. In addition
to the valves, these ships have a ripping
panel incorporated in the envelope which
can easily be torn away and allows the gas
to escape with considerable rapidity. In-
numerable instances have occurred of ships
being compelled to land in out-of-the-way
places owing to engine failure or other rea-
sons ; they have been ripped and deflated

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 19

and brought back to the station without
incurring any but the most trifling damage.

Experience in the war has proved that for
mihtary purposes the large rigid, capable of
long hours of endurance, and the small non-
rigid made thoroughly reliable, are the most
valuable types for future development. The
larger non-rigids, with the possible exception
of the North Sea, do not appear to be likely
to fulfil any very useful function.

Airship design introduces so many prob-
lems which are not met with in the ordinary
theory of structures, that a whole volume
could easily be devoted to the subject, and
even then much valuable information would
have to be omitted from lack of space. It is,
therefore, impossible, in only a section of a
chapter, to do more than indicate in the
briefest manner a few salient features con-
cerning these problems. The suspension of
weights from the lightest possible gas com-
partment must be based on the ordinary
principles of calculating the distribution of
loads as in ships and other structures. In
the non-rigid, the envelope being made of a
flexible fabric has, in itself, no rigidity what-

20 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

soever, and its shape must be maintained by
the internal pressm^e kept sHghtly in excess
of the pressure outside. Fabric is capable of
resisting tension, but is naturally not able
to resist compression. If the car was rigged
beneath the centre of the envelope with
vertical suspensions it would tend to produce
compression in the underside of the envelope,
owing to the load not being fully distributed.
This would cause, in practice, the centre
portion of the envelope to sag downwards,
while the ends would have a tendency to rise.
The principle which has been found to be
most satisfactory is to fix the points of sus-
pension distributed over the greatest length
of envelope possible proportional to the lift
of gas at each section thus formed. From
these points the wires are led to the car. If
the car is placed close to the envelope it will
be seen that the suspensions of necessity lie
at a very flat angle and exert a serious
longitudinal compression. This must be
resisted by a high internal pressure, which
demands a stouter fabric for the envelope
and, therefore, increased weight. It follows
that the tendency of the envelope to deform

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 21

is decreased as the distance of the car from
the gas compartment is increased.

One method of overcoming this difficulty
is found by using the Astra-Torres design.
As will be seen from the diagram of the
North Sea airship, the loads are excellently
distributed by the several fans of internal
rigging, while external head resistance is
reduced to a minimum, as the car can be
slung close underneath the envelope. More-
over, the direct longitudinal compression due
to the rigging is applied to a point consider-
ably above the axis of the ship. In a large
non-rigid many of these difficulties can be
overcome by distributing the weight into
separate cars along the envelope itself.

We have seen that as an airshijD rises the
gas contained in the envelope expands. If
the envelope were hermetically sealed, the
higher the ship rose the greater would be-
come the internal pressure, until the envelope
finally burst. To avoid this difficulty in a
balloon, a valve is provided through which
the gas can escape. In a balloon, therefore,
which ascends from the ground full, gas is
lost throughout its upward journey, and

22 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

when it comes down again it is partially
empty or flabby. This would be an impos-
sible situation in the case of the airship, for
she would become unmanageable, owing to
the buckling of the envelope and the sagging
of the planes. Ballonets are therefore fitted
to prevent this happening.

Ballonets are internal balloons or air
compartments fitted inside the main enve-
lope, and were originally filled with air by a
blower driven either by the main engines or
an auxiliary motor. These blowers were a
continual source of trouble, and at the
present day it has been arranged to collect
air from the slip-stream of the propeller
through a metal air scoop or blower-pipe
and discharge it into an air duct which
distributes it to the ballonets.

The following example will explain their
functions :

An airship ascends from the ground full
to 1,000 feet. The ballonets are empty, and
remain so throughout the ascent. By the
time the airship reaches 1,000 feet it will
have lost l/30th of its volume of gas which
will have escaped through the valves. If

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 23

the ship has a capacity of 300,000 cubic feet
it will have lost 10,000 cubic feet of gas. The
airship now commences to descend ; as it des-
cends the gas within contracts and air is blown
into the ballonets. By the time the ground is
reached 10,000 cubic feet of air will have been
blown into the ballonets and the airship will
have retained its shape and not be flabby.

On making a second ascent, as the airship
rises the air must be let out of the ballonets
instead of gas from the envelope, and by the
time 1,000 feet is reached the ballonets will
be empty. To ensure that this is always
done the ballonet valves are set to open at
less pressure than the gas valves.

It therefore follows in the example under
consideration that it will not be necessary
to lose gas during flight, provided that an
ascent is not made over 1,000 feet.

Valves are provided to prevent the pressure
in the envelope from exceeding a certain
determined maximum and are fitted both
to ballonets and the gaschamber. They are
automatic in action, and, as we have said, the
gas valve is set to blow off at a pressure in
excess of that for the air valve.

24 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

In rigid airships ballonets are not provided
for the gasbags, and as a consequence a long
flight results in a considerable expenditure
of gas. If great heights are required to be
reached, it is obvious that the wastage of gas
would be enormous, and it is understood that
the Germans on starting for a raid on Eng-
land, where the highest altitudes were neces-
sary, commenced the flight with the gasbags
only about 60 per cent. full.

To stabilize the ship in flight, fins or planes
are fitted to the after end of the envelope or
hull. Without the horizontal planes the
ship will continually pitch up and down, and
without the vertical planes it will be found
impossible to keep the ship on a straight
course. The planes are composed of a
framework covered with fabric and are
attached to the envelope by means of stay
wires fixed to suitable points, in the case of
non-rigid ships skids being employed to pre-
vent the edge of the plane forcing its way
through the surface of the fabric. The
rudder and elevator flaps in modern practice
are hinged to the after edges of the planes.

The airship car contains all instruments

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 25

and controls required for navigating the
ship and also provides a housing for the
engines. In the early days swivelhng pro-
pellers were considered a great adjunct, as
with their upward and downward thrust
they proved of great value in landing.
Nowadays, owing to greater experience, land-
ing does not possess the same difficulty as in
the past, and swivelling propellers have been
abandoned except in rigid airships, and even
in the later types of these they have been
dispensed with.

Owing to the great range of an airship a
thoroughly reliable engine is a paramount
necessity. The main requirements are —
firstly, that it must be capable of running
for long periods without a breakdown;
secondly, that it must be so arranged that
minor repairs can be effected in the air ; and
thirdly, that economy of oil and fuel is of
far greater importance to an airship than the
initial weight of the engine itself.

Handling and Flying of Airships

The arrangements made for handling air-
ships on the ground and while landing, and

26 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

also for moving them in the open, provide
scope for great ingenuity. An airship when
about to land is brought over the aerodrome
and is " ballasted up " so that she becomes
considerably lighter than the air which she
displaces. The handling party needs con-
siderable training, as in gusty weather the
safety of the ship depends to a great extent
upon its skill in handling her. The ship
approaches the handling party head to wind
and the trail rope is dropped ; it is taken by
the handling party and led through a block
secured to the ground and the ship is slowly
hauled down. When near the ground the
handling party seize the guys which are
attached to the ship at suitable points, other
detachments also support the car or cars, as
the case may be, and the ship can then be
taken into the shed. In the case of large
airships the size of the handling party has to
be increased and mechanical traction is also
at times employed.

As long as the airship is kept head to wind,
handling on the ground presents little diffi-
culty ; on many occasions, however, unless
the shed is revolving, as is the case on certain

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 27

stations in Germany, the wind will be found
to be blowing across the entrance to the shed.
The ship will then have to be turned, and
during this operation, unless great discretion
is used, serious trouble may be experienced.

Many experiments have been and are still
being conducted to determine the best method
of mooring airships in the open. These will
be described and discussed at some length
in the chapter devoted to the airship of the
future.

During flight certain details require atten-
tion, and carelessness on the pilot's part, even
on the calmest of days, may lead to disaster.
The valves and especially the gas valves
should be continually tested, as on occasions
they have been known to jam, and the loss
of gas has not been discovered until the ship
had become unduly heavy.

Pressure should be kept as constant as
possible. Most airships work up to 30
millimetres as a maximum and 15 milli-
metres as a minimum flying pressure. During
a descent the pressure should be watched
continuously, as it may fall so low as to
cause the nose to blow in. This will right

28 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

itself when the speed is reduced or the
pressure is raised, but there is always the
danger of the envelope becoming punctured
by the bow stiff eners when this occurs.

Housing Accommodation for
Airships, Etc.

During the early days of the war, when
stations were being equipped, the small type
of airship was the only one we possessed.
The sheds to accommodate them were con-
structed of wood both for cheapness and
speed of construction and erection. These
early sheds were all of very similar design,
and were composed of trestles with some
ordinary form of roof -truss. They were
covered externally with corrugated sheeting.
The doors have always been a source of
difficulty, as they are compelled to open for
the full width of the shed and have to stand
alone without support. They are fitted
with wheels which run on guide rails, and are
opened by means of winches and winding
gear.

The later sheds built to accommodate the
rigid airship are of much greater dimensions,

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 29

and are constructed of steel, but otherwise
are of much the same design.

The sheds are always constructed with
sliding doors at either end, to enable the
ship to be taken out of the lee end according
to the direction of the wind.

It has been the practice in this country to
erect windscreens in order to break the force
of the wind at the mouth of the shed. These
screens are covered with corrugated sheet-
ing, but it is a debatable point as to whether
the comparative shelter found at the actual
opening of the shed is compensated for by
the eddies and air currents which are found
between the screens themselves. Experi-
ments have been carried out to reduce these
disturbances, in some cases by removing
alternate bays of the sheeting and in other
cases by substituting expanded metal for the
original corrugated sheets.

It must be acknowledged that where this
has been done, the airships have been found
easier to handle.

At the outbreak of war, with the exception
of a silicol plant at Kingsnorth, now of
obsolete type, and a small electrolytic plant

mS

30 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

at Farnborough, there was no facility for the
production of hydrogen in this country for
the airship service.

When the new stations were being equipped,
small portable silicol plants were supplied
capable of a small output of hydrogen.
These were replaced at a later date by larger
plants of a fixed type, and a permanent gas
plant, complete with gasholders and high
pressure storage tanks was erected at each
station, the capacity being 5,000 or 10,000
cubic feet per hour according to the needs of
the station.

With the development of the rigid building
programme, and the consequent large require-
ments of gas, it was necessary to reconsider
the whole hydrogen situation, and after pre-
liminary experimental work it was decided
to adopt the water gas contact process, and
plants of this kind with a large capacity of
production were erected at most of the
larger stations. At others electrolytic plants
were put down. Hydrogen was also found
to be the bye-product of certain industries,
and considerable supplies were obtained from
commercial firms, the hydrogen being com-

DROl'PIXG EXl'ERIMENTAI, I'AKACMUTES FROM AIRSHII

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 31

pressed into steel cylinders and dispatched
to the various stations.

Before concluding this chapter, certain
words must be written on parachutes. A
considerable controversy raged in the press
and elsewhere a few months before the
cessation of hostilities on the subject of
equipping the aeroplane with parachutes
as a life-saving device. In the airship
service this had been done for two years.
The best type of parachute available was
selected, and these were fitted according to
circumstances in each type of ship. The
usual method is to insert the parachute,
properly folded for use, in a containing case
which is fastened either in the car or on the
side of the envelope as is most convenient.
In a small ship the crew are all the time
attached to their parachutes and in the event
of the ship catching fire have only to jump
overboard and possess an excellent chance
of being saved. In rigid airships where
members of the crew have to move from one
end of the ship to the other, the harness is
worn and parachutes are disposed in the
keel and cars as are lifebuoys in seagoing

32 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

vessels. Should an emergency arise, the
nearest parachute can be attached to the
harness by means of a spring hook, which is
the work of a second, and a descent can be
made.

It is worthy of note that there has never
been a fatal accident or any case of a para-
chute failing to open properly with a man
attached.

The material embodied in this chapter,
brief and inadequate as it is, should enable
the process of the development of the airship
to be easily followed. Much has been omitted
that ought by right to have been included,
but, on the other hand, intricate calculations
are apt to be tedious except to mathemati-
cians, and these have been avoided as far as
possible in the following pages.

D

(Jf)^(f

CHAPTER II

Early Airships and their Development
to the Present Day

The science of ballooning had reached quite
an advanced stage hv the middle of the
eighteenth century, but the construction of
an airship was at that time beyond the range
of possibility. Discussions had taken place
at various times as to the practicability of
rendering a balloon navigable, but no attempts
had been made to put these points of argu-
ment to a practical test.

Airship history may be said to date from
January 24th, 1784. On that day Brisson,
a member of the Academy in Paris, read
before that Society a paper on airships and
the methods to be utilized in propelling them.
He stated that the balloon, or envelope as it
is now called, must be cylindrical in shape
with conical ends, the ratio of diameter to
length should be one to five or one to six and
that the smallest cross-sectional area should

33

34 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

face the wind. He proposed that the method
of propulsion should be by oars, although he
appeared to be by no means sanguine if
human strength would be sufficient to move
them. Finally, he referred to the use of
different currents of the atmosphere lying
one above the other.

This paper caused a great amount of interest
to be taken in aeronautics, with the result
that various Frenchmen turned their atten-
tion to airship design and production. To
France must be due the acknowledgment
that she was the pioneer in airship construc-
tion and to her belongs the chief credit for
early experiments.

At a later date Germany entered the lists
and tackled the problems presented with
that thoroughness so characteristic of the
nation. It is just twenty-one years ago
since Count Zeppelin, regardless of public
ridicule, commenced building his rigid air-
ships, and in that time such enormous
strides were made that Germany, at the
outbreak of the war, was ahead of any other
country in building the large airship.

In 1908 Italy joined the pioneers, and as

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 35

regards the semi-rigid is in that type still
pre-eminent. Great Britain, it is rather sad
to say, adopted the policy of " wait and see,"
and, with the exception of a few small ships
described in the two succeeding chapters, had
produced nothing worthy of mention before
the outbreak of the great European war.
She then bestirred herself, and we shall see
later that she has produced the largest fleet
of airships built by any country and, while
pre-eminent with the non-rigid, is seriously
challenging Germany for the right to say that
she has now built the finest rigid airship.

France

To revert to early history, in the same year
in which Brisson read his paper before the
Academy, the Duke of Chartres gave the
order for an airship to the brothers Robert,
who were mechanics in Paris. This ship was
shaped like a fish, on the supposition that an
airship would swim through the air like a
fish through water. The gas-chamber was
provided with a double envelope, in order
that it might travel for a long distance with-
out loss of gas.

36 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

The airship was built in St. Cloud Park ;
in length it was 52 feet with a diameter of
32 feet, and was ellipsoidal in shape with a
capacity of 30,000 cubic feet. Oars were
provided to propel it through the air, experi-
ments having proved that with two oars of
six feet diameter a back pressure of 90 lb.
was obtained and with four oars 140 lb.

On July 6th in the same year the first
ascent was made from St. Cloud. The
passengers were the Duke of Chartres, the
two brothers Robert and Colin-Hulin. No
valves having been fitted, there was no outlet
for the expansion of gas and the envelope
was on the point of bursting, when the Duke
of Chartres, with great presence of mind,
seized a pole and forced an opening through
both the envelopes. The ship descended in
the Park of Meudon.

On September 19th the airship made a
second ascent with the same passengers as
before, with the exception of the Duke.
According to the report of the brothers
Robert, they succeeded in completing an
ellipse and then travelled further in the
direction of the wind without using the oars

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 37

or steering arrangements. They then de-
viated their course somewhat by the use of
these implements and landed at Bethune,
about 180 miles distant from Paris.

In those days it was considered possible
that a balloon could be rendered navigable
by oars, wings, mill wheels, etc., and it was
not until the last decades of the nineteenth
century, when light and powerful motors had
been constructed, that the problem became
really practical of solution.

During the nineteenth century several
airships were built in France and innumer-
able experiments were carried out, but the
vessels produced were of little real value
except in so far as they stimulated their
designers to make further efforts. Two of
these only will be mentioned, and that because
the illustrations show how totally different
they were from the airship of to-day.

In 1834 the Compte de Lennox built an
airship of 98,700 cubic feet capacity. It was
cylindrical in form with conical ends, and
is of interest because a small balloon or
ballonet, 7,050 cubic feet contents, was placed
inside the larger one for an air filling. A car

38 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

66 feet in length was rigged beneath the
envelope by means of ropes eighteen inches
long. Above the car the envelope was
provided with a long air cushion in connection
with a valve. The intention was by com-
pression of the air in the cushion and the inner
balloon, to alter the height of the airship,
in order to travel with the most favourable
air currents. The motive power was 20 oar
propellers worked by men.

This airship proved to be too heavy on
completion to lift its own weight, and was
destroyed by the onlookers.

The next airship, the Dupuy de Lome, is
of interest because the experiments were
carried out at the cost of the State by the
French Government. This ship consisted
of a spindle-shaped balloon with a length of
112 feet, diameter of 48i feet and a volume
of 121,800 cubic feet. An inner air balloon
of 6,000 cubic feet volume was contained in
the envelope. The method of suspension
was by means of diagonal ropes with a net
covering. A rudder in the form of a triangular
sail was fitted beneath the envelope and at
the after part of the ship. The motive power

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 39

was double-winged screws 29 feet 6 inches
diameter, to be worked by four to eight men.

On her trials the ship became practically
a free balloon, an independent velocity of
about six miles per hour being achieved and a
deviation from the direction of the wind of
ten degrees.

At the close of the nineteenth century
Santos-Dimiont turned his attention to air-
ships. The experiments which he carried out
marked a new epoch and there arose the
nucleus of the airship as we know it to-day.
Between the years 1898 and 1905 he had in
all built fourteen airships, and they were
continually improved as each succeeding one
made its appearance. In the last one he
made a circular flight ; starting from the
aerodrome of the aero club, he flew round the
Eiffel Tower and back to the starting point
in thirty-one minutes on October 19th, 1902.
For this feat the Deutsch prize was awarded
to him.

The envelopes he used were in design a
much nearer approach to a streamline form
than those previously adopted, but tapered
to an extremely fine point both at the bow

40 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

and stern. For rigging he employed a long
nacelle, in the centre of which was supported
the car, and unusually long suspensions dis-
tributed the weight throughout practically
the entire length of the envelope. To the
name of Santos-Dumont much credit is due.
He may be regarded as the originator of the
airship for pleasure purposes, and by his suc-
cess did much to popularize them. He also
was responsible to a large extent for the
development and expansion of the airship
industry in Paris.

At a little later date, in 1902 to be precise,
the Lebaudy brothers, in conjunction with
Julliot, an engineer, and Surcoup, an aero-
naut, commenced building an airship of a
new type. This ship was a semi-rigid and
was of a new shape, the envelope resembling
in external appearance a cigar. In length
it was 173 feet with a diameter of 30 feet and
the total capacity was 64,800 cubic feet.
This envelope w^as attached to a rigid
elliptical keel-shaped girder made of steel
tubes, which was about a third of the length
of the ship. The girder was covered with a
shirting and intended to prevent the ship

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 41

pitching and rolling while in flight. A
horizontal rudder was attached to the under
side of this girder, while right aft a large
vertical rudder was fixed.

A small car was suspended by steel rods at
a distance of 17 feet 9 inches from the girder,
with a framework built up underneath to
absorb the shock on landing.

A 35 horse-power Daimler-Mercedes motor,
weighing some 800 lb. without cooling water
and fuel, drove two twin-bladed propellers
on either side of the car.

In the year 1903 a number of experimental
flights were made with this ship and various
details in the construction were continually
introduced. The longest flight was 2 hours
46 minutes. Towards the end of that year,
while a voyage was being made from Paris
to Chalais Meudon, the airship came in contact
with a tree and the envelope was badly torn.

In the following year it was rebuilt, and the
volume was slightly increased with fixed and
movable planes added to increase the
stability. After several trips had been made,
the airship again on landing came in contact
with a tree and was burst.

42 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

The ship was rebuilt and after carrying
out trials was purchased by the French Army.
The Lebaudy airship had at that time been
a distinct success, and in 1910 one was pur-
chased for the British Government by the
readers of the Morning Post,

In the ten-ton Lebaudy the length of the
keel framework was greatly extended, and
ran for very nearly the full length of the
envelope. The disadvantage of this ship
was its slowness, considering its size and
power, and was due to the enormous resis-
tance offered by the framework and rig-
ging.

Airships known as the " Clement-Bayard "
were also built about this time. They were
manufactured by the Astra Company in
conjunction with Monsieur Clement, a motor
engineer.

In later days vessels were built by the
Astra Company of the peculiar design intro-
duced by Senor Torres. These ships, some
of which were of considerable size, were
highly successful, and we became purchasers
at a later date of several.

The Zodiac Company also constructed a

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 43

number of small ships which were utilized
during the war for anti-submarine patrol.

It cannot be said, however, that the
French have fulfilled their early promise as
airship designers, the chief reason for this
being that the airship is peculiarly suitable
for work at sea and the French relied on us
to maintain the commerce routes on the high
seas and concentrated their main efforts on
defeating the Germans in the field, in which
as all the world acknowledges they were
singularly successful and hold us under an
eternal obligation.

Germany

The progress and development of the air-
ship in Germany must now be considered ;
it will be seen that, although the production
of satisfactory ships was in very few hands,
considerable success attended their efforts in
the early days of the twentieth century.

In 1812, Leppig built an airship at the cost
of the State at Woronzowo in Russia. This
was of the shape of a fish with a rigid frame-
work beginning at the height of the longi-
tudinal axis. The lower keel-shaped part

44 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

of the same formed the car. Two fans were
attached to the sides and a tail piece was
provided behind to act as a rudder. The
ship was inflated, but structural damage
occurred during this operation and rendered
it incapable of flight.

In 1836, Georg Rebenstein, of Nurnburg,
was considering the use of the fall of inclined
planes to obtain horizontal motion.

Nothing of importance was produced until
a much later date, when in 1885 M. Wolf
constructed an envelope of 26,500 cubic feet.
An engine and propeller were fixed in a
triangular framework in front of the airship,
supported by the steam pipe of a steam engine
fixed under the bod}' of the envelope. The
framework lacked rigidity, and the envelope
tore during inflation and the airship failed
to ascend.

In the follo^ving year Dr. Woelfert, of
Berlin, produced a cigar- shaped envelope, to
which was attached rigidly a long bamboo
framework containing the car. An 8 horse-
power benzine Daimler motor drove a twin-
bladed aluminium propeller, and another
propeller for vertical movement was provided

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 45

beneath the car. Four trial flights were
attempted, but on each occasion the motor
gave unsatisfactory results, and Woelfert
sought to improve it with a benzine vaporizer
of his own pattern. This improvement was
not a success, as during the last flight an
explosion took place and both Woelfert and
an aeronaut named Knabe, who was accom-
panying him, were killed.

In 1906, Major von Parseval experimented,
in BerUn, with a non-rigid type of airship.
His first ship had a volume of 65,200 cubic
feet, but owing to his system of suspensions,
the car hung 27 feet 6 inches below the
envelope. A Daimler engine was used,
driving a four-bladed propeller. Owing to
the great overall height of this ship, experi-
ments were made to determine a system of
rigging, enabling the car to be shmg closer
to the ^envelope, and in later types the
elliptical rigging girdle was adopted. His
later ships were of large dimensions and
proved very satisfactory. About the same
time Major Gross also built airships for the
German aeronautical battalion.

It is, however, the rigid airship that has

D

46 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

made Germany famous, and we must now
glance at the evolution of these ships with
which we became so familiar during the war.

The first rigid airship bearing any resem-
blance to those of the present day was
designed by David Schwartz, and was built
in St. Petersburg in 1893. It was composed
of aluminium plates riveted to an aluminium
framework. On inflation, the frame-work
collapsed and the ship was unusable.

In 1895 he designed a second rigid airship,
which was built in Berlin by Messrs. Weiss-
pfennig and Watzesch. The hull framework
was composed of aluminium and was 155 feet
long, elliptical in cross section, giving a
volume of 130,500 cubic feet. It was pointed
in front and rounded off aft. The car, also
constructed of the same material, was rigidly
attached to the hull by a lattice framework,
and the whole hull structure was covered in
with aluminium sheeting. A 12 horse-power
Daimler benzine motor was installed in the
car, driving through the medium of a belt
twin aluminium screw propellers ; no rudders
were supplied, the steering being arranged
by means of a steering screw placed centrally

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 47

to the ship above the top of the car. Infla-
tion took place at the end of 1897 by a method
of pressing out air-filled fabric cells which
were previously introduced into the hull.
This operation took three and a half hours.
On the day of the first flight trials there was
a fresh wind of about 17 miles per hour. The
airship ascended into the air, but, apparently,
could make httle headway against the wind.
During the trip the driving-belt became
disengaged from the propellers and the ship
drifted at the mercy of the wind, but sus-
tained httle damage on landing. After being
deflated, the hull began to break up under
the pressure of the wind and was completely
destroyed by the vandalism of the spectators.
In 1898 Graf F. von Zeppehn, inspired by
the example of Schwartz, and assisted by
the engineers Kober and Kubler, conceived
the idea of constructing a rigid airship of
considerable dimensions. For this purpose a
floating shed was built on Lake Constance,
near to Friedrichshafen. The hull was built
of aluminium lattice-work girders, and had
the form of a prism of twenty-four surfaces
with arch-shaped ends. In length it was

48 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

420 feet, with a diameter of 38 feet 6 inches,
and its capacity was 400,000 cubic feet. The
longitudinal framework was divided by a
series of rings, called transverse frames, into
seventeen compartments containing fabric
gasbags. The transverse frames were fitted
with steel wire bracings, both radial and
chord, and to strengthen the whole a tri-
angular aluminium keel of lattice work was
used. A vertical and horizontal rudder were
fitted to the forward portion of the ship, and
aft another vertical rudder. The whole
exterior of the ship was fitted with a fabric
outer cover.

Two aluminium cars, each about 20 feet
long, were rigidly attached to the framework
of the hull. Each car was furnished with a
16 horse-power Daimler engine, driving two
four-bladed screw propellers of aluminium
sheeting. These propellers were situated on
the side of the hull at the centre of resistance.
The transmission was supplied by steel tubes
with universal cross joints through the
medium of bevel gears. Reversible driving
arrangements were installed in the cars in
order that the ship could be driven back-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 49

wards and forwards. Electric bells, tele-
graphs, and speaking tubes were also fitted,
and it can be seen that for general arrange-
ments this airship was a long way ahead of
any built at that date.

The first flight was made on July 2nd,
1900. The ship attained a speed of 17 miles
per hour, and the numerous technical details
stood the tests well. The stability was con-
sidered sufficient, and the height of flight
could be altered by the horizontal rudder.
The landing on the water was accomplished
without difficulty, and could be regarded as
free from danger. The faults requiring
remedy were, firstly, the upper cross stays,
which buckled in flight owing to insufficient
strength for the length of the hull ; secondly,
the gasbags were not sufficiently gastight ;
and, thirdly, the power of the engines were
not sufficient for such a heavy ship.

This airship was broken up in 1902.

In 1905 the second ship of the series was
completed. She was of nearly the same size
as the previous ship, but the workmanship
was much superior. Increased engine-power
was also supplied, as in this instance two

50 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

85 horse-power Mercedes engines were fitted.
This ship was destroyed by a storm while
landing during the next year.

The third ship, which was completed in
1906, was the first Zeppelin airship acquired
by the Government, and lasted for a con-
siderable time, being rebuilt twice, first in
1908 and again in 1911. She was slightly
larger than the previous two.

The building was continued, and up to the
outbreak of war no fewer than twenty- five
had been completed. It is impossible, in the
space at our disposal, to trace the career of
all of them. Several came to an untimely
end, but as the years went by each succeeding
ship proved more efficient, and the first ship
which was delivered to the Navy performed
the notable flight of thirty- one hours.

To revert, for a moment, once more to the
earlier ships — ^the fourth was wrecked and
burned at Echterdingen in the same year in
which she was completed. The fifth, which
was the second military airship, was fitted
with two 110 horse-power engines and also
came to a tragic end, being destroyed by
wind at Weilberg in 1910, and the follow-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 51

ing ship was burnt at Baden in the same
year.

The seventh ship was the first passenger
airship of the series, and was known as the
Deutschland. By this time the capacity had
increased to 536,000 cubic feet, and she was
propelled by three 120 horse-power engines.
She also fell a victim to the wind, and was
wrecked in the Teutoberg Forest in 1910 ;
and yet another was destroyed in the follow-
ing year at Dusseldorf.

The tenth ship to be completed was the
passenger ship Schwaben ; her capacity was
636,500 cubic feet, and she had three 150
horse-power engines. This ship carried out
her first flight in June, 1911, and was followed
four months later by the Victoria Luise.
The fourth passenger airship was known as
the Hansa. These three ships were all in
commission at the outbreak of war.

The first naval airship, L 1, mentioned
above, was larger than any of these. The
total length was 525 feet, diameter 50 feet,
and cubic contents 776,000 cubic feet. Her
hull framework in section formed a regular
polygon of seventeen sides, and was built up

52 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

of triangular aluminium girders. The gas-
bags were eighteen in number. This ship was
fitted with three 170 horse-power Maybach
engines, which were disposed as follows — one
in the forward ear, driving two two-bladed
propellers ; two in the after car, each driving
a single four-bladed propeller. For steering
purposes she had six vertical and eight
horizontal planes. The total lift was 27 tons,
with a disposable lift of 7 tons. Her speed
was about 50 miles per hour, and she could
carry fuel for about 48 hours. Her normal
crew consisted of fourteen persons, including
officers.

It will probably be remembered that the
military Zeppelin Z III was compelled to
make a forced landing in France. This ship
was of similar construction to L 1, but of
smaller volume, her capacity being 620,000
cubic feet. A trial flight was being carried
out, and while above the clouds the crew
lost their bearings. Descending they saw
some French troops and rose again immedi-
ately. After flying for four hours they
thought they must be safely over the
frontier and, running short of petrol, made a

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 53

landing — not knowing that they were still
in France until too late. The airship was
taken over by the French authorities.

Until the year 1916 the Zeppehn may be
considered to have passed through three
stages of design. Of the twenty-five ships
constructed before the war, twenty-four were
of the first type and one of the second. Each
type possessed certain salient features, which,
for simplicity, will be set out in the form of
a tabulated statement, and may be useful
for comparison when our own rigid airships
are reviewed.

Stage 1.

Long parallel portion of hull with bluff

nose and tail.
External keel with walking way.
Box rudders and elevators.
Two cars.
Four wing propellers.

Stage 2.

Long parallel portion of hull with bluff
nose, tail portion finer than in Stage 1.
Internal keel walking way.
Box rudders and elevators.

54 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

Three cars, foremost for control only.
Four wing propellers.

Stage 3.

Shorter parallel portion of hull frame-
work, bluff nose and tapering tail.

Internal keel walking way.

Balanced monoplane rudders and ele-
vators.

Three cars, foremost for control only.
Two foremost cars close together and
connected by a canvas joint to look
like one car.

Four engines and four propellers. One
engine in forward car driving pusher
propeller. Three engines in after car
driving two wing and one pusher
propeller.

To the second stage belongs naval airship
L 2, which was destroyed by fire a month
after completion in 1913. In 1916 a fourth
stage made its appearance, of which the
first ship was L 30, completed in May,
and to which the ill-fated L 33 belonged.
This type is known as the super-Zeppelin,
and has been developed through various

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 55

stages until L 70, the latest product before
the armistice. In this stage the following
are its main features :

Stage 4.

Short parallel portion of hull, long
rounded bow and long tapering stern.
In all respects a good streamline shape.

Internal keel walking way.

Balanced monoplane rudders and ele-
vators.

Five cars. Two forward (combined as
in Stage 3), one aft, and two amid-
ships abreast.

Six engines and six propellers. The
after one of the forecar and the side-
cars each contain one engine driving
direct a pusher propeller. The after
car contains three engines, two of
which drive two wing propellers ; the
third, placed aft, drives direct a
pusher propeller.

In this stage the type of girders was
greatly altered.

A company known as the Schutte-Lanz
Company was also responsible for the pro-

56 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

duction of rigid airships. They introduced
a design, which was a distinct departure
from Zeppehn or anyone else. The hull
framework was composed of wood, the
girders being built up of wooden sections.
The shape of these ships was much more of
a true streamline than had been the Zeppelin
practice, and it was on this model that the
shape of the super-Zeppelin was based. These
ships proved of use and took part in raids on
this country, but the Company was taken
over by the Government and the personnel
was amalgamated with that engaged on
Zeppelin construction during the war.

Italy

In 1908, Italy, stimulated by the progress
made by other continental nations, com-
menced experimental work. Three types
were considered for a commencement, the
P type or Piccolo was the first effort, then
followed the M type, which signifies " medium
sized," and also the semi-rigid Forlanini.

In the Forlanini type the envelope is
divided into several compartments with an
internal rigid keel, and to-day these ships

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 57

are of considerable size, the most modern
being over 600,000 cubic feet capacity.
During the war, Itahan airships were deve-
loped on entirely dissimilar lines to those in
other countries. Both we and our Allies,
and to a great extent the Germans, employed
airships exclusively for naval operations ; on
the other hand, the Italian ships were utiUzed
for bombing raids in conjunction with mili-
tary evolutions.

For this reason height was of primary im-
portance and speed was quite a secondary
consideration, owing to the low velocity of
prevailing winds in that country. Flights
were never of long duration compared with
those carried out by our airships. Height
was always of the utmost importance, as the
Italian ships were used for bombing enemy
towns and must evade hostile gunfire. For
this reason weight was saved in every possible
manner, to increase the height of the
" ceiling."

In addition to the types already men-
tioned, three other varieties have been con-
structed since the war — the Usuelli and the
D.E. type and G class. The G class was a

58 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

rigid design which has not been proceeded
with, and, with this single exception, all are
of a semi-rigid type in which an essentially
non-rigid envelope is reinforced by a metal
keel. In the Forlanini and Usuelli types the
keel is completely rigid and assists in main-
taining the shape of the envelopes, and in the
Forlanini is enclosed within the envelope.
In the other types the keel is in reality a
chain of rigid links similar to that of a bicycle.
The form of the envelope is maintained by
the internal pressm^e and not by the keel, but
the resistance of the latter to compression
enables a lower pressure to be maintained
than would be possible in a purely non-rigid
ship.

The ]\I type ship is of considerable size, the
P smaller, while the D.E. is a small ship com-
parable to our own S.S. design. The review
of these three countries brings the early
history of airships to a conclusion. Little of
importance was done elsewhere before the
war, though Baldwin's airship is perhaps
worthy of mention. It was built in America
in 1908 by Charles Baldwin for the American
Government. The capacity of the envelope

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 59

was 20,000 cubic feet, she carried a crew of
two, and her speed was 16 miles per hour.
She carried out her trial flight in August,
1908, and was accepted by the American
military authorities. During the war both the
naval and military authorities became greatly
interested in airships, and purchased several
from the French and English. In addition
to this a ship in design closely resembling
the S.S. was built in America, but suffered
from the same lack of experience which we
did in the early days of airship construction.
We must now see what had been happening
in this country in those fateful years before
the bombshell of war exploded in our midst.

CHAPTER III

British Airships built by Private Firms

It has been shown in the previous chapter
that the development of the airship had been
practically neglected in England prior to the
twentieth century. Ballooning had been
carried out both as a form of sport and also
by the showman as a Saturday afternoon's
sensational entertainment, with a parachute
descent as the piece de resistance. The ex-
periments in adapting the balloon into the
dirigible had, however, been left to the
pioneers on the Continent.

Partridge's Airship

It appears that in the nineteenth century
only one airship was constructed in this
country, which proved to be capable of
ascending into the air and being propelled
by its own machinery. This airship made its
appearance in the year 1848, and was built
to the designs of a man named Partridge.

60

BRITISH AIRSHIPS 61

Very little information is available concern-
ing this ship. The envelope was cylindrical
in shape, tapering at each end, and was com-
posed of a light rigid framework covered
with fabric. The envelope itself was covered
with a light wire net, from which the car was
suspended. The envelope contained a single
ballonet for regulating the pressure of the
gas. Planes, which in design more nearly
resembled sails, were used for steering pur-
poses. In the car, at the after end, were
fitted three propellers which were driven by
compressed air.

Several trips of short duration were carried
out in this airship, but steering was never
successfully accomplished owing to diffi-
culties encountered with the planes, and,
except in weather of the calmest description,
she may be said to have been practically
uncontrollable.

Hugh Bell's Airship

In the same year, 1848, Bell's airship was
constructed. The envelope of this ship was
also cylindrical in shape, tapering at each
end to a point, the length of which was 56

62 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

feet and the diameter 21 feet 4 inches. A
keel composed of metal tubes was attached
to the underside of the envelope from which
the car was suspended. On either side of the
car screw propellers were fitted to be worked
by hand. A rudder was attached behind the
car. It was arranged that trials should be
carried out in the Vauxhall Gardens in Lon-
don, but these proved fruitless.

Barton's Airship

In the closing years of the nineteenth
century appeared the forerunners of airships
as they are to-day, and interest was aroused
in this country by the performances of the
ships designed by Santos-Dumont and Count
Zeppelin. From now onwards we find various
British firms turning their attention to the
conquest of the air.

In 1903 Dr. Barton commenced the con-
struction of a large non-rigid airship. The
envelope was 176 feet long with a height of
43 feet and a capacity of 235,000 cubic feet ;
it was cylindrical in shape, tapering to a
point at each end. Beneath the whole
length of the cylindrical portion was sus-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 63

pended a bamboo framework which served
as a car for the crew, and a housing for the
motors supplying the motive power of the
ship. This framework was suspended from
the envelope by means of steel cables.
Installed in the car were two 50 horse-power
Buchet engines which were mounted at the
forward and after ends of the framework.
The propellers in themselves were of singular
design, as they consisted of three pairs of
blades mounted one behind the other. They
were situated on each side of the car, two
forward and two aft. The drive also included
large friction clutches, and each engine was
under separate control.

To enable the ship to be trimmed horizon-
tally, water tanks were fitted at either end
of the framework, the water being transferred
from one to the other as was found necessary.

A series of planes was mounted at intervals
along the framework to control the elevation
of the ship.

This ship was completed in 1905 and was
tried at the Alexandra Palace in the July of
that year. She, unfortunately, did not come
up to expectations, owing to the difficulty

64 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

in controlling her, and during the trial flight
she drifted away and was destroyed in land-
ing.

Willows No. 1

From the year 1905 until the outbreak of
war Messrs. Willows & Co. were engaged on
the construction of airships of a small type,
and considerable success attended their
efforts. Each succeeding ship was an im-
provement on its predecessor, and flights
were made which, in their day, created a
considerable amount of interest.

In 1905 their first ship was completed.
This was a very small non-rigid of only
12,500 cubic feet capacity. The envelope
was made of Japanese silk, cylindrical in
shape, with rather blunt conical ends. A
long nacelle or framework, triangular in
section and built up of light steel tubes, was
suspended beneath the envelope by means of
diagonally crossed suspensions.

A 7 horse-power Peugeot engine was fitted
at the after end of the nacelle which drove a
10-feet diameter propeller. In front were a
pair of swivelling tractor screws for steering

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 65

the ship in the vertical and horizontal plane.
No elevators or rudders were fixed to the
ship.

Willows No. 2

The second ship was practically a semi-
rigid. The envelope was over twice the
capacity of the earlier ship, being of 29,000
cubic feet capacity. This envelope was
attached to a keel of bamboo and steel, from
which was suspended by steel cables a small
car. At the after end of the keel was mounted
a small rudder for the horizontal steering.
For steering in the vertical plane two pro-
pellers were mounted on each side of the car,
swivelling to give an upward or downward
thrust. A 30 horse-power J. A. P. engine was
fitted in this case. Several successful flights
were carried out by this ship, of which the
most noteworthy was from Cardiff to London.

Willows, No. 3

No. 2, having been rebuilt and both
enlarged and improved, became known as
No. 3. The capacity of the envelope, which
was composed of rubber and cotton, was

66 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

increased to 32,000 cubic feet, and contained
two ballonets. The gross lift amounted to
about half a ton. As before, a 30 horse-
power J.A.P. engine was installed, driving
the swivelling propellers. These propellers
were two-bladed with a diameter of 6| feet.
The maximum speed was supposed to be
25 miles per hour, but it is questionable if
this was ever attained.

This ship flew from London to Paris, and
was the first British-built airship to fly across
the Channel.

Willows No. 4

The fourth ship constructed by this firm
was completed in 1912, and was slightly
smaller than the two preceding ships. The
capacity of the envelope in this instance was
reduced to 24,000 cubic feet, but was a much
better shape, having a diameter of 20 feet,
which was gradually tapered towards the
stern. A different material was also used,
varnished silk being tried as an experiment.
The envelope was attached to a keel on
which was mounted the engine, a 35 horse-
power Anzani, driving two swivelling four-

AIKSHIl' NO. 4

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 67

bladed propellers. From the keel was sus-
pended a torpedo-shaped boat car in which
a crew of two was accommodated. Originally
a vertical fin and rudder were mounted at
the stern end of the keel, but these were later
replaced by fins on the stern of the envelope.
This ship was purchased by the naval
authorities, and after purchase was more or
less reconstructed, but carried out little
flying. At the outbreak of war she was lying
deflated in the shed at Farnborough. As
will be seen later, this was the envelope
which was rigged to the original experi-
mental S.S. airship in the early days of 1915,
and is for this reason, if for no other, par-
ticularly interesting.

Willows No. 5

This ship was of similar design, but of
greater capacity. The envelope, which was
composed of rubber-proofed fabric, gave a
volume of 50,000 cubic feet, and contained
two ballonets. A 60 horse-power engine
drove two swivelling propellers at an esti-
mated speed of 38 miles per hour. She was

68 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

constructed at Hendon, from where she made
several short trips.

Marshall Fox's Airship

In the early days of the war an airship was
constructed by Mr. Marshall Fox which is
worthy of mention, although it never flew.
It was claimed that this ship was a rigid
airship, although from its construction it
could only be looked upon as a non-rigid ship,
having a wooden net-work around its enve-
lope. The hull was composed of wooden
transverse frames forming a polygon of
sixteen sides, with radial wiring fitted to each
transverse frame. The longitudinal members
were spiral in form and were built up of
three-ply lathes. A keel of similar con-
struction ran along the under side of the hull
which carried the control position and com-
partments for two Green engines, one of 40
horse-power, the other of 80 horse-power,
together with the petrol, bombs, etc.

In the hull were fitted fourteen gasbags
giving a total capacity of 100,000 cubic feet.

The propeller drive w^as obtained by means
of a wire rope. The gross Uft of the ship was

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 69

4,276 lb., and the weight of the structure,
complete with engines, exceeded this.

It became apparent that the ship could
never fly, and work was suspended. She was
afterwards used for carrying out certain
experiments and at a later date was broken
up.

Apart from the various airships built under
contract for the Government there do not
appear to be any other ships built by private
firms which were completed and actually
flew. It is impossible to view this lack of
enterprise with any other feelings than those
of regret, and it was entirely due to this want
of foresight that Great Britain entered upon
the World War worse equipped, as regards
airships, than the Central Empires or any of
the greater Allied Powers.

CHAPTER IV

British Army Airships

The French and German military authorities
began to consider airships as an arm of the
Service in the closing years of the nineteenth
century, and devoted both time and con-
siderable sums of money in the attempt to
bring them to perfection. Their appearance
in the British Army was delayed for many
years on account of the expense that would
be incurred in carrying out experiments. In
1902, Colonel Templer, at that time head of
the Balloon Section, obtained the necessary
sanction to commence experiments, and two
envelopes of gold-beaters skin of 50,000 cubic
feet capacity were built. With their com-
pletion the funds were exhausted, and nothing
further done until 1907.

NuLLi Secundus I

In 1907 the first complete military airship
in England was built, which bore the grandi-

70

BRITISH AIRSHIPS 71

loquent title of Nulli Sccundus. One of the
envelopes constructed by Colonel Templer
was used : it was cylindrical in shape with
spherical ends. Suspended beneath the enve-
lope by means of a net and four broad silk
bands was a triangular steel framework or
keel from which was slung a small car. A
50 horse-power Antoinette engine was situ-
ated in the forward part of the car which
drove two metal-bladed propellers by belts.
At the after part of the keel were fitted a
rudder and small elevators, and two pairs of
movable horizontal planes were also fitted
forward. It is remarkable that no stabilizing
surfaces whatsoever were mounted. The
envelope was so exceedingly strong that a
high pressure of gas could be sustained, and
ballonets were considered unnecessary, but
relief valves were employed. The first flight
took place in September and was fairly
successful. Several were made afterwards,
and in October she was flown over London
and landed at the Crystal Palace. The flight
lasted 3 hours and 25 minutes, which con-
stituted at the time a world's record. Three
days later, owing to heavy winds, the ship

72 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

had to be deflated and was taken back to
Farnborough.

NuLLi Secundus II

In 1908 the old ship was rebuilt with
several modifications. The envelope was
increased in length and was united to the
keel by means of a covering of silk fabric in
place of the net, four suspension bands being
again used. A large bow elevator was
mounted which made the ship rather un-
stable. A few flights were accomplished, but
the ship proved of little value and was
broken up.

Baby

This little airship made its first appear-
ance in the spring of 1909. The envelope
was fish-shaped and composed of gold-
beater's skin, with a volume of 21,000 cubic
feet. One ballonet was contained in the
envelope which, at first, had three inflated
fins to act as stabilizers. These proved un-
satisfactory as they lacked rigidity, and were
replaced after the first inflation by the
ordinary type. Two 8 horse-power 3-cylinder

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 73

Berliet engines were mounted in a long ear
driving a simple propeller, and at a later date
were substituted by a R.E.P. engine which
proved most unsatisfaetory. During the
autumn permission was obtained to enlarge
the envelope and fit a more powerful engine.

Beta

Beta was completed in May, 1910. The
envelope was that of the Baby enlarged,
and now had a volume of 35,000 cubic feet.
The car was composed of a long frame,
having a centre compartment for the crew
and engines, which was the standard practice
at that time for ships designed by the Astra
Company. A 35 horse-power Green engine
drove two wooden two-bladed propellers by
chains. The ship was fitted with an un-
balanced rudder, while the elevators were in
the front of the frame. This ship was suc-
cessful, and in June flew to London and back,
and in September took part in the Army
manoeuvres, on one occasion being in the
air for 7f hours without landing, carrying a
crew of three. Trouble was experienced in
the steering, the elevators being situated too

74 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

near the centre of the ship to be really efficient
and were altogether too small.

In 1912, Beta, having been employed
regularly during the previous year, was pro-
vided with a new car having a Clerget engine
of 45 horse-power. In 1913 she was inflated
for over three months and made innumerable
flights, on one occasion carrying H.R.H. the
Prince of Wales as passenger. She had at
that time a maximum speed of 35 miles per
hour, and could carry fuel for about eight
hours with a crew of three.

Gamma

In 1910 the Gamma was also completed.
This was a much bigger ship with an envelope
of 75,000 cubic feet capacity, which, though
designed in England, had been built by the
Astra Company in Paris. The car, as in
Beta, was carried in a long framework sus-
pended from the envelope. This portion of
the ship was manufactured in England,
together with the machinery. This consisted
of an 80 horse-power Green engine driving
swivelling propellers, the gears and shafts of
which were made by Rolls Royce. The

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 75

engine drove the propeller shafts direct, one
from each end of the crankshaft.

Originally the envelope was fitted with
inflated streamhne stabihzers on either side,
but at a later date these were replaced by-
fixed stabilizing planes. At the same time
the Green engine was removed and two Iris
engines of 45 horse-power were installed,
each driving a single propeller. There were
two pairs of elevators, each situated in the
framework, one forward, the other aft. In
1912, having been rigged to a new envelope
of 101,000 cubic feet capacity, the ship took
part in the autumn manoeuvres, and con-
siderable use was made of wireless telegraphy.
In a height reconnaissance the pilot lost his
way, and running out of petrol drifted all
night, but was safely landed. When return-
ing to Farnborough the rudder controls were
broken and the ship was ripped. In this
operation the framework was considerably
damaged. When repairs were being carried
out the elevators were removed from the car
framework and attached to the stabilizing
fins in accordance with the method in use
to-day.

76 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

Clement-Bayard

In 1910 it was arranged by a committee
of Members of Parliament that the Clement-
Bayard firm should send over to England a
large airship on approval, with a view to its
ultimate purchase by the War Office, and a
shed was erected at Wormwood Scrubs for
its accommodation. This ship arrived safely
in October, but was very slow and difficult
to control. The envelope, moreover, was of
exceedingly poor quality and consumed so
much gas that it was decided to deflate it.
She was taken to pieces and never rebuilt.

Lebaudy

About the same time, interest having been
aroused in this country by the success of
airships on the Continent, the readers of the
Morning Post subscribed a large sum to
purchase an airship for presentation to the
Government. This was a large ship of
350,000 cubic feet capacity and was of semi-
rigid design, a long framework being sus-
pended from the envelope which supported
the weight of the car. It had two engines
of 150 horse-power which developed a speed

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 77

of about 32 miles per hour. The War Office
built a shed at Farnborough to house it, and
in accordance with dimensions given by the
firm a clearance of 10 feet was allowed
between the top of the ship and the roof of
the shed. Inconceivable as it may sound,
the overall height of the ship was increased
by practically 10 feet without the War Office
being informed. The ship flew over and was
landed safely, but on being taken into the
shed the envelope caught on the roof girders,
owing to lack of headroom, and was ripped
from end to end. The Government agreed
to increase the height of the shed and the
firm to rebuild the ship. This was completed
in March, 1911, and the ship was inflated
again. On carrying out a trial flight, having
made several circuits at 600 feet, she
attempted to land, but collided with a house
and was completely wrecked. This was the
end of a most unfortunate ship, and her loss
was not regretted.

Delta

Towards the end of 1910 the design was
commenced of the ship to be known as the

78 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

Delta, and in 1911 the work was put in hand.
The first envelope was made of waterproofed
silk. This proved a failure, as whenever the
envelope was put up to pressure it invariably
burst. Experiments were continued, but
no good resulting, the idea was abandoned
and a rubber-proofed fabric envelope was
constructed of 173,000 cubic feet volume.
This ship was inflated in 1912. The first idea
was to make the ship a semi-rigid by lacing
two flat girders to the sides of the envelope
to take the weight of the car. This idea had
to be abandoned, as in practice, when the
weight of the car was applied, the girders
buckled. The ship was then rigged as a
non-rigid. A novelty was introduced by
attaching a rudder flap to the top stabilizing
fin, but as it worked somewhat stiffly it was
later on removed. This ship took part in
the manoeuvres of 1912 and carried out
several fiights. She proved to be exceedingly
fast, being capable of a speed of 44 miles per
hour. In 1913 she was completely re-rigged
and exhibited at the Aero Show, but the
re-designed rigging revealed various faults
and it was not until late in the year that she

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 79

carried out her flight trials. Two rather
interesting experiments were made during
these flights. In one a parachute descent
was successfully accomplished ; and in
another the equivalent weight of a man was
picked up from the ground without assistance
or landing the ship.

Eta

The Eta was somewhat smaller than the
Delta, containing only 118,000 cubic feet of
hydrogen, and was first inflated in 1913.
The envelope was composed of rubber-
proofed fabric and a long tapering car was
suspended, this being in the nature of a com-
promise between the short car of the Delta
and the long framework gear of the Gamma.
Her engines were two 80 horse-power Canton-
Unn6, each driving one propeller by a chain.
This ship proved to be a good design and
completed an eight- hour trial flight in Sep-
tember. On her fourth trial she succeeded
in towing the disabled naval airship No. 2
a distance of fifteen miles. Her speed was
42 miles per hour, and she could carry a
crew of five with fuel for ten hours.

80 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

On January 1st, 1914, the Army disbanded
their Airship Section, and the airships Beta,
Gamma, Delta and Eta were handed over to
the Navy together with a number of officers
and men.

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CHAPTER V

Early days of the Naval Airship Section
Parseval Airships, Astra-Torres

TYPE, ETC.

The rapid development of the rigid airships
in Germany began to create a considerable
amount of interest in official circles. It was
realized that those large airships in the future
would be invaluable to a fleet for scouting
purposes. It was manifest that our fleet, in
the event of war, would be gravely handi-
capped by the absence of such aerial scouts,
and that Germany would hold an enormous
advantage if her fleet went to sea preceded by
a squadron of Zeppelin airships.

The Imperial Committee, therefore, decided
that the development of the rigid airship
should be allotted to the Navy, and a design for
Rigid Airship No. 1 was prepared by Messrs.
Vickers in conjunction with certain naval
officers in the early part of 1909.

Si

82 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

As will be seen later this ship was com-
pleted in 1911, but broke in two in September
of that year and nothing more was done with
her. In February, 1912, the construction of
rigid airships was discontinued, and in March
the Naval Airship section was disbanded.

In September, 1912, the Naval Airship
section was once more reconstituted and was
stationed at Farnborough. The first require-
ments were airships, and owing to the fact
that airship construction was so behindhand
in this country, in comparison with the Con-
tinent, it was determined that purchases
should be made abroad until sufficient experi-
ence had been gained by British firms to
enable them to compete with any chance of
success against foreign rivals.

First a small non-rigid, built by Messrs.
Willows, was bought by the Navy to be used
for the training of airship pilots. In addition
an Astra-Torres airship was ordered from
France. This was a ship of 229,450 cubic
feet capacity and was driven by twin Chenu
engines of 210 horse-power each. She carried
a crew of six, and was equipped with wireless
and machine guns. The car could be moved

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 83

fore and aft for trimming purposes, either by
power or by hand. This was, however, not
satisfactory, and was abandoned.

In April, 1913, Messrs. Vickers were asked
to forward proposals for a rigid airship which
afterwards became known as No. 9. Full
details of the vicissitudes connected with this
ship will be given in the chapter devoted to
Rigid Airships.

In July, approval was granted for the con-
struction of six non-rigid ships. Three of
these were to be of the German design of
Major von Parseval and three of the Forlanini
type, which was a semi-rigid design manufac-
tured in Italy. The order for the Parse vals
was placed with Messrs. Vickers and for the
Forlaninis with Messrs. Armstrong.

The Parseval airship was delivered to this
country and became known as No. 4 ; a
second ship of the same type was also building
when war broke out ; needless to say this
ship was never delivered. At a later date
Messrs. Vickers, who had obtained the patent
rights of the Parseval envelope, completed
the other two ships of the order.

The Forlanini ship was completing in Italy

84 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

on the declaration of war and was taken over
by the Itahans; Messrs. Armstrong had not
commenced work on the other two. These
ships, although allocated numbers, never
actually came into being.

Parseval Airship No. 4

This airship deserves special consideration
for two reasons ; firstly, on account of the
active- service flying carried out by it during
the first three years of the war, and, secondly,
for its great value in training of the officers
and men who later on became the captains
and crews of rigid airships.

The Parseval envelope is of streamline
shape which tapers to a point at the tail, and
in this ship was of 300,000 cubic feet capacity.
The system of rigging being patented, can
only be described in very general terms. The
suspensions carrying the car are attached to
a large elliptical rigging band which is formed
under the central portion of the envelope.
To this rigging band are attached the trajec-
tory bands which pass up the sides and over
the top of the envelope, sloping away from
the centre at the bottom towards the nose

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 85

and tail at the top. The object of this is to
distribute the load fore and aft over the
envelope. These bands, particularly at the
after end of the ship, follow a curved path,
so that they become more nearly vertical as
they approach the upper surface of the
envelope. This has the effect of bringing the
vertical load on the top of the envelope ; but
a greater portion of the compressive force
comes on the lower half, where it helps to
resist the bending moment due to the unusu-
ally short suspensions. A single rudder plane
and the ordinary elevator planes were fitted
to the envelope. A roomy open car was
provided for this ship, composed of a duralu-
min framework and covered with duralumin
sheeting. Two 170 horse-power Maybach
engines were mounted at the after end of the
car, which drove two metal-bladed reversible
propellers. These propellers were later re-
placed by standard four-bladed wooden ones
and a notable increase of speed was obtained.

Two officers and a crew of seven men were
carried, together with a wireless installation
and armament.

This airship, together with No. 3, took part

86 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

in the great naval review at Spithead, shortly
before the commencement of the war, and in
addition to the duties performed by her in
the autumn of 1914, which are mentioned
later, carried out long hom's of patrol duty
from an east coast station in the summer of
1917. In all respects she must be accounted
a most valuable purchase.

Parseval Airships 5, 6 and 7

Parseval No. 5 was not delivered by
Germany owing to the war, so three envelopes
and two cars were built by Messrs. Vickers
on the design of the original ship. These
were delivered somewhat late in the war, and
on account of the production of the North
Sea airship with its greater speed were not
persevered with. The dimensions of the
envelopes were somewhat increased, giving
a cubic capacity of 325,000 cubic feet. Twin
Maybach engines driving swivelling propel-
lers were installed in the car, which was com-
pletely covered in, but these ships were slow
in comparison with later designs, and were
only used for the instruction of officers and

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 87

men destined for the crews of rigid airships
then building.

An experimental ship was made in 1917
which was known as Parseval 5; a car of a
modified Coastal pattern with two 240 horse-
power Renault engines was rigged to one of
these envelopes. During a speed trial, this
ship was calculated to have a ground speed
of 50 to 53 miles per hour. The envelope,
however, consumed an enormous amount of
gas and for this reason the ship was deflated
and struck off the list of active ships.

This digression on Parseval airships has
anticipated events somewhat, and a return
must now be made to earlier days.

Two more Astra-Torres were ordered from
France, one known as No. 8, being a large
ship of 400,000 cubic feet capacity. She was
fitted with two Chenu engines of 240 horse-
power, driving swivelling propellers. This
ship was delivered towards the end of the
year 1914. The second Astra was of smaller
capacity and was delivered, but as will be seen
later, was never rigged, the envelope being used
for the original coastal ship and the car slung
to the envelope of the ex-army airship Eta.

88 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

On January 1st, 1914, an important event
took place : the Army disbanded their airship
service, and the mihtary ships together with
certain officers and men were transferred to
the Naval Air Service.

Before proceeding further, it may be help-
ful to explain the system by which the naval
airships have been given numbers. These
craft are always known by the numbers which
they bear, and the public is completely
mystified as to their significance whenever
they fly over London or any large town. It
must be admitted that the method is ex-
tremely confusing, but the table which follows
should help to elucidate the matter. The
original intention was to designate each air-
ship owned by the Navy by a successive
number. The original airship, the rigid
Mayfly, was known as No. 1, the Willows
airship No. 2, and so on. These numbers
were allocated regardless of type and as each
airship was ordered, consequently some of
these ships, for example the Forlaninis, never
existed. That did not matter, however, and
these numbers were not utilized for ships
which actually were commissioned. On the

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 89

transfer of the army airships, four of these,
the Beta, Gamma, Delta and Eta, were given
their numbers as they were taken over, to-
gether with two ships of the Epsilon class
which were ordered from Messrs. Rolls Royce,
but never completed. In this way it will be
seen that numbers 1 to 22 are accounted for.

In 1915 it was decided to build a large
number of small ships for anti-submarine
patrol, which were called S.S.'s or Submarine
Scouts. It was felt that it would only make
confusion worse confounded if these ships
bore the original system of successive num-
bering and were mixed up with those of later
classes which it was known would be pro-
duced as soon as the designs were completed.
Each of these ships was accordingly numbered
in its own class, S.S., S.S.P., S.S. Zero,
Coastal, C Star and North Sea, from 1
onwards as they were completed.

In the case of the rigids, however, for
some occult reason the old system of num-
bering was persisted in. The letter R is pre-
fixed before the number to show that the
ship is a rigid. Hence we have No. 1 a rigid,
the second rigid constructed is No. 9, or R 9,

90

BRITISH AIRSHIPS

and the third becomes R 23. From this
number onwards all are rigids and are num-
bered in sequence as they are ordered, with
the exception of the last on the list, which is
a ship in a class of itself. This ship the
authorities, in their wisdom, have called R 80
— why, nobody knows.

With this somewhat lengthy and tedious
explanation the following table may be
understood :

Remarks*

Wrecked, Sept. 24, 1911.

Became S.S. 1.

Deleted, May, 1916.

Deleted, July, 1917.

Never delivered from
Germany. (Substitute
ship built by Messrs.
Vickers.)

Built by Messrs. Vickers.

>> jj ?j

Deleted, May, 1916.
Deleted, June, 1918.
Envelope used for C 1.
Never delivered owing to
war.

No, Type,

1. Rigid

2. Willows

3. Astra- Torres

4. Parse val

6.

??

7.

j> •

8.

Astra- Torres

9.

Rigid

10.

Astra-Torres

11.

Forlanini

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 91

No.

Type.

Remarks.

12.

Forlanini

. Never delivered
war.

owing to

13.

55

Do.

do.

14.

Rigid

► . Never built.

15.

55

55 55

16.

Astra-Torres

J See No. 8.

17.

Beta

. Transferred from Army.

Deleted, May,

1916.

18.

Gamma

Do.

do.

19.

Delta

Do.

do.

20.

Eta

. . Transferred from the
Army. Fitted with car

from No. 10.

Deleted

May, 1916.

21.

Epsilon

. Construction cancelled

May, 1916.

22.

99 •

Do.

do.

23.

Rigid

. 23 Class.

24.

» •

. 23 Class.

25.

55 •

. 23 Class.

26.

9)

. 23 Class.

27.

95

. 23x Class.

28.

55 •

Do. Never completed.

29.

55

. 23x Class.

30.

55 •

Do. Never completed.

92

BRITISH AIRSHIPS

No. Type.

Remarks.

31. Rigid

. 31 Class.

32.

. 31 Class, building.

33.

. 33^Class.

34.

. 33iClass.

35.

. Cancelled.

36.

. Building.

37.

38.

39.

40.

80.

In August, 1914, Europe, which had been
in a state of diplomatic tension for several
years, was plunged into the world war. The
naval airship service at the time was in
possession of two stations, Farnborough and
Kingsnorth, the latter in a half-finished con-
dition. Seven airships were possessed, Nos.
2, 3 and 4, and the four ex-army ships —
Beta, Gamma, Delta and Eta — and of these
only three, Nos. 3, 4 and the Beta, were in
any condition for flying. Notwithstanding
this, the utmost use was made of the ships
which were available.

On the very first night of the war, Nos. 3

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 93

and 4 carried out a reconnaissance flight over
the southern portion of the North Sea, and
No. 4 came under the fire of territorial
detachments at the mouth of the Thames on
her return to her station. These zealous
soldiers imagined that she was a German
ship bent on observation of the dockyard at
Chatham.

No. 3 and No. 4 rendered most noteworthy
service in escorting the original Expeditionary
Force across the Channel, and in addition to
this No. 4 carried out long patrols over the
channel throughout the following winter.

No. 17 (Beta) also saw active service, as
she was based for a short period early in 1915
at Dunkirk, and was employed in spotting
duties with the Belgian artillery near Ostend.

The Gamma and the Delta were both lying
deflated at Farnborough at the outbreak of
the war, and in the case of the latter the car
was found to be beyond repair, and she was
accordingly deleted. The Gamma was in-
flated in January, 1915, and was used for
mooring experiments.

The Eta, having been inflated and deflated
several times owing to the poor quality of

94 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

the envelope, attempted to fly to Dunkirk in
November, 1914. She encountered a snow-
storm near Redhill and was compelled to
make a forced landing. In doing this she
was so badly damaged as to be incapable of
repair, and at a later date was deleted.

No. 8, which was delivered towards the
end of 1914, was also moored out in the open
for a short time near Dunkirk, and carried
out patrol in the war zone of the Belgian
coast.

So ends the story of the Naval Airship
Service before the war.

[ With the submarine campaign ruthlessly
waged by the Germans from the spring of
1915 and onwards, came the airship's oppor-
tunity, and the authorities grasped the fact
that, with development, here was the weapon
to defeat the most dangerous enemy of the
Empire. The method of development and
the success attending it the following chapters
will show.

CHAPTER VI

Naval Airships, — The Non-Rigids
S.S. Type

The development of the British airships of
to-day may be said to date from February
28th, 1915. On that day approval was given
for the construction of the original S.S.
airship.

At this time the Germans had embarked
upon their submarine campaign, realizing,
with the failure of their great assaults on the
British troops in Flanders, that their main
hope of victory lay in starving Great Britain
into surrender. There is no doubt that the
wholesale sinking of our merchant shipping
was sufficient to cause grave alarm, and the
authorities were much concerned to devise
means of minimizing, even if they could not
completely eliminate the danger. One pro-
posal which was adopted, and which chiefly
concerns the interests of this book, was the
establishment of airship stations round the

95

96 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

coasts of Great Britain. These stations were
to be equipped with airships capable of
patrolHng the main shipping routes, whose
functions were to search for submarines and
mines and to escort shipping through the
danger zones in conjunction with surface
craft.

Airship construction in this country at the
time was, practically speaking, non-existent.
There was no time to be wasted in carrying
out long and expensive experiments, for the
demand for airships which could fulfil these
requirements was terribly urgent, and speed
of construction was of primary importance.
The non-rigid design having been selected
for simplicity in construction, the expedient
was tried of slinging the fuselage of an
ordinary B.E. 2 C aeroplane, minus the
wings, rudder and elevators and one or two
other minor fittings, beneath an envelope
with tangential suspensions, as considerable
experience had been gained already in a
design of this type.

For this purpose the envelope of airship
No. 2, which was lying deflated in the shed at
Farnborough, was rushed post haste to Kings-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 97

north, inflated and rigged to the fuselage
prepared for it. The work was completed
with such despatch that the airship carried
out her trial flight in less than a fortnight
from approval being granted to the scheme.
The trials were in every way most satis-
factory, and a large number of ships of this
design was ordered immediately. At the
same time two private firms were invited to
submit designs of their own to fulfil the
Admiralty requirements. One firm's design,
S.S. 2, did not fulfil the conditions laid down
and was put out of commission ; the other,
designed by Messrs. Armstrong, was suffi-
ciently successful for them to receive further
orders. In addition to these a car was
designed by Messrs. Airships Ltd., which
somewhat resembled a Maurice Farman
aeroplane body, and as it appeared to be
suitable for the purpose, a certain number of
these was also ordered.

About this period the station at Farn-
borough was abandoned by the Naval Air-
ship Service to make room for the expansion
of the military aeroplane squadrons. The
personnel and airships were transferred to

98 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

Kingsnorth, which became the airship head-
quarters. The greatest energy was displayed
in preparing the new stations, which were
selected as bases for the airships building for
this anti-submarine patrol. Small sheds,
composed of wood, were erected with almost
incredible rapidity, additional personnel was
recruited, stores were collected, huts built
for their accommodation and that of the men,
and by the end of the summer the organiza-
tion was so complete that operations were
enabled to commence.

The S.S., or submarine scout, airship
proved itself a great success. Beginning
originally with a small programme the type
passed through various developments until,
at the conclusion of the w^ar, no fewer than
150 ships of various kinds had been con-
structed. The alterations which took place
and the improvements effected thereby will
be considered at some length in the following
pages.

S.S.B.E. 2 C

The envelope of the experimental ship
S.S. 1 was only of 20,500 cubic feet capacity ;

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 99

for the active-service ships, envelopes of a
similar shape of 60,000 cubic feet capacity
were built. The shape was streamline, that
is to say, somewhat blunt at the nose and
tapering towards the tail, the total length
being 143 feet 6 inches, with a maximum
diameter of 27 feet 9 inches.

The gross lift of these ships with 98% pure
gas at a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit
and barometer 30 inches, is 4,180 lb. The net
hft available for crew, fuel, ballast, arma-
ment, etc., 1,434 lb., and the disposable lift
still remaining with crew of two on board and
full tanks, 659 lb.

The theoretical endurance at full speed as
regards petrol consumption is a little over 8
hours, but in practice it is probable that the
oil would run short before this time had been
reached. At cruising speed, running the
engine at 1,250 revolutions, the consump-
tion is at the rate of 3.6 gallons per hour,
which corresponds to an endurance of 16i
hours.

With the engine running at 1,800 revolu-
tions, a speed of 50.6 miles per hour has been
reached by one of these ships, but actually

83>ovv

100 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

very few attained a greater speed than 40
miles per hom\

The envelopes of S.S. airships are com-
posed of rubber- proofed fabric, two fabrics
being used with rubber interposed between
and also on the inner or gas surface. To
render them completely gastight and as
impervious to the action of the weather, sun,
etc., as possible, five coats of dope are applied
externally, two coats of Delta dope, two of
alimiinium dope and one of aluminium var-
nish applied in that order.

One ripping panel is fitted, which is situated
on the top of the envelope towards the nose.
It has a length of 14 feet 5 inches and a
breadth of about 8 inches. The actual fabric
which has to be torn away overlaps the edge
of the opening on each side. This overlap is
sewn and taped on to the envelope and forms
a seam as strong and gastight as any other
portion of the envelope. Stuck on this fabric
is a length of biased fabric 8j inches wide.
These two strips overlap the opening at the
forward end by about three feet. At this end
the two strips are loose and have a toggle
inserted at the end to which the ripping cord

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 101

is tied. The ripping cord is operated from
the car. It is led aft from the ripping panel
to a pulley fixed centrally over the centre of
the car, from the pulley the cord passes round
the side of the envelope and through a gland
immediately below the pulley.

The nose of the envelope is stiffened to
prevent it blowing in. For this purpose 24
canes are fitted in fabric pockets around the
nose and meet at a point 2j inches in front of
the nose. An aluminium conical cap is fitted
over the canes and a fabric nose cap over the
whole.

Two ballonets are provided, one forward
and one aft, the capacity of each being 6,375
cubic feet. The supply of air for filling these
is taken from the propeller draught by a
slanting aluminium tube to the underside of
the envelope, where it meets a longitudinal
fabric hose which connects the two ballonet
air inlets. Non-return fabric valves known
as crab-pots are fitted in this fabric hose on
either side of their junction with the air
scoop. Two automatic air valves are fitted
to the underside of the envelope, one for each
ballonet. The air pressure tends to open

102 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

the valve instead of keeping it shut and to
counteract this the spring of the valve is
inside the envelope. The springs are set to
open at a pressure of 25 to 28 mm.

Two gas valves are also fitted, one on the
top of the envelope, the other at the bottom.
The bottom gas valve spring is set to open at
30 to 35 mm. pressure, the top valve is hand
controlled only.

These valves are all very similar in design.
They consist of two wooden rings, between
which the envelope's gripped, and which are
secured to each other by studs and butterfly
nuts. The valve disc, or moving poilion of
the valve, is made of aluminium and takes a
seating on a thin indiarubber ring stretched
between a metal rod bent into a circle of
smaller diameter than the valve opening
and the wooden ring of the valve. When it
passes over the wooden ring it is in contact
with the envelope fabric and makes the
junction gastight. The disc is held against
the rubber by a compressed spring.

The valve cords are led to the pilot's seat
through eyes attached to the envelope.

The system of rigging or car suspension is

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 103

simplicity itself and is tangential to the enve-
lope. On either side there are six main sus-
pensions of 25 cwt. stranded steel cable known
as " C " suspensions. Each " C " cable
branches into two halves known as the " B "
bridles, which in turn are supported at each
end by the bridles known as " A." The ends
of the " A " bridles are attached to the enve-
lope by means of Eta patches. These con-
sist of a metal D-shaped fitting round which
the rigging is spliced and through which a
number of webbing bands are passed which
are spread out fanwise and solutioned to the
envelope. It will thus be seen that the total
load on each main suspension is proportion-
ally taken up by each of the four " A "
bridles, and that the whole weight of the car
is equally distributed over the greater part of
the length of the envelope. Fom- handhng
guys for manoeuvring the ship on the ground
are provided under the bow and under the
stern. A group of four Eta patches are
placed close together, which form the point
of attachment for two guys in each case.
The forward of these groups of Eta patches
forms the anchoring point. The bridle, con-

104 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

sisting of 25 cwt. steel cable, is attached here
and connected to the forepart of the skids of
the car. The junction of this bridle with the
two cables from the skids forms the mooring
point and there the main trail rope is attached.
This is 120 feet long and composed of 2-inch
manilla. This is attached, properly coiled,
to the side of the car and is dropped by a
release gear. It is so designed that when the
airship is held in a wind by the trail rope the
strain is evenly divided between the envelope
and the car. The grapnel carried is fitted to
a short length of rope. The other end of the
rope has an eye, and is fitted to slide down the
main trail rope and catch on a knot at the end.
For steering and stabiUzing purposes the
S.S. airship was originally designed with four
fins and rudders, which were to be set exactly
radial to the envelope. In some cases the
two lower fins and rudders were abandoned,
and a single vertical fin and rudder fitted
centrally under the envelope were substi-
tuted. The three planes are identical in size
and measure 16 feet by 8 feet 6 inches, having
a gross stabilizing area of 402J square feet.
They are composed of spruce and aluminium

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 105

and steel tubing braced with wire and covered
by linen doped and varnished when in
position.

The original rudders measured 3 feet by
8 feet 6 inches. In the case, however, of the
single plane being fitted, 4-feet rudders are
invariably employed. Two kingposts of steel
tube are fitted to each plane and braced with
wire to stiffen the whole structure.

The planes are attached to the envelope
by means of skids and stay wires. The skids,
composed of spruce, are fastened to the enve-
lope by eight lacing patches.

The car, it will be remembered, is a B.E. 2 C
fuselage stripped of its wings, rudders and
elevators, with certain other fittings added
to render it suitable for airship work. The
undercarriage is formed of two ash skids,
each supported by three struts. The aero-
plane landing wheels, axle and suspensions
are abandoned.

In the forward end of the fuselage was
installed a 75 horse-power air cooled Renault
engine driving a single four-bladed tractor
propeller through a reduction gear of 2 to 1.
The engine is of the 8-cyhnder V type,

106 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

weighing 438 lb. with a bore of 96 mm. and a
stroke of 120 mm. The Claudel-Hobson type
of carburettor is employed with this engine.
The type of magneto used is the Bosch D.V.4,
there being one magneto for each line of cylin-
ders. In the older French Renaults the
Bosch H.L.8 is used, one magneto supplying
the current to all the plugs. Petrol is carried
in three tanks, a gravity and intermediate
tank as fitted to the original aeroplane, and a
bottom tank placed underneath the front
seat of the car. The petrol is forced by
air pressure from the two lower tanks
into the gravity tank and is obtained by
a hand pump fitted outside the car along-
side the pilot's seat. The oil tank is
fitted inside the car in front of the ob-
server.

The observer's seat is fitted abaft the en-
gine and the pilot's seat is aft of the observer.
The observer, who is also the wireless operator,
has the wireless apparatus fitted about his
seat. This consists of a receiver and trans-
mitter fitted inside the car, which derives
power from accumulator batteries. The aerial
reel is fitted outside the car. During patrols

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 107

signals can be sent and received up to and
between 50 and 60 miles.

The pilot is responsible for the steering and
the running of the engine, and the controls
utiHzed are the fittings supplied with the
aeroplane. Steering is operated by the feet
and elevating by a vertical wheel mounted in
a fore and aft direction across the seat. The
control wires are led aft inside the fairing of
the fuselage to the extreme end, whence they
pass to the elevators and rudders.

The instrument board is mounted in front
of the pilot. The instruments comprise a
watch, an air-speed indicator graduated in
knots, an aneroid reading to 10,000 feet, an
Elliott revolution counter, a Clift inclinometer
reading up to 20 degrees depression or eleva-
tion, a map case with celluloid front.

There are in addition an oil pressure gauge,
a petrol pressure gauge, a glass petrol level
and two concentric glass pressure gauges for
gas pressure.

The steering compass is mounted on a
small wooden pedestal on the floor between
the pilot's legs. •

The water-ballast tank is situated immedi-

108 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

ately behind the pilot's seat and contains
14 gallons of water weighing 140 lbs. The
armament consists of a Lewis gun and bombs.
The bombs are carried in frames suspended
about the centre of the undercarriage. The
bomb sight is fitted near the bomb releasing
gear outside the car on the starboard side
adjacent to the pilot's seat. The Lewis gun,
although not always carried on the early S.S.
airships, was mounted on a post alongside the
pilot's seat.

SS. Maurice Farman

For this type of S.S. the cars were built by
Messrs. Airships Ltd. In general appearance
they resemble the Maurice Farman aeroplane
and were of the pusher type ; 60,000 and in
later cases 70,000 cubic feet envelopes were
rigged to these ships, which proved to be
shghtly slower than the B.E. 2 C type, but
this was compensated for owing to the in-
creased comfort provided for the crew, the
cars being more roomy and suitable for airship
work in every way.

The system of rigging to air intents and
purposes is the same in all types of S.S. ships,

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 109

the suspensions being adjusted to suit the
different makes of car.

In these ships the pilot sits in front, and
behind him is the wireless telegraphy opera-
tor ; in several eases a third seat was fitted to
accommodate a passenger or engineer; dual
rudder and elevator controls are provided for
the pilot and observer.

The engine is mounted aft, driving a four-
bladed pusher propeller, with the petrol tanks
situated in front feeding the carburettors by
gravity. The engines used are Rolls Royce
Renaults, although in one instance a 75
horse-power Rolls Royce Hawk engine was
fitted, which assisted in making an exceed-
ingly useful ship.

S.S. Armstrong Whitworth

The car designed by Messrs. Armstrong
Whitworth is of the tractor type and is in all
ways generally similar to the B.E. 2 C. The
single-skid landing chassis with buffers is the
outstanding difference. These cars had to
be rigged to 70,000 cubic feet envelopes
otherwise the margin of lift was decidedly
small. A water-cooled 100 horse-power

110 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

Green engine propelled the ship, and a new
feature was the disposition of petrol, which
was carried in two aluminium tanks slung
from the envelope and fed through flexible
pipes to a two-way cock and thence to the
carbiu'ettors. These tanks, which were sup-
ported in a fabric sling, showed a saving in
weight of 100 lb. compared with those fitted
in the B.E. 2 C.

For over two years these three types of S.S.
ships performed a great part of our airship
patrol and gave most excellent results. Owing
to the constant patrol which was maintained
whenever weather conditions were suitable,
the hostile submarine hardly dared to show
her periscope in the waters which were under
observation. In addition to this, practically
the whole of the airship personnel now filling
the higher positions, such as Captains of
Rigids and North Seas, graduated as pilots in
this type of airship. From these they passed to
the Coastal and onwards to the larger vessels.

As far as is known the height record for a
British airship is still held by an S.S. B.E. 2 C,
one of these ships reaching the altitude of
10,300 feet in the summer of 1916.

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 111

The Maurice Farman previously mentioned
as being fitted with the Hawk engine, carried
out a patrol one day of 18 hom^s 20 minutes.
In the summer of 1916 one of the Armstrong
ships was rigged to an envelope doped black
and sent over to France. While there she
carried out certain operations at night which
were attended with success, proving that
under certain circumstances the airship can
be of value in operating with the military
forces over land.

S.S.P.

In 1916 the design was commenced for an
S.S. ship which should have a more comfort-
able car and be not merely an adaptation of
an aeroplane body. These cars, which were
of rectangular shape with a blunt nose, were
fitted with a single landing skid aft, and con-
tained seats for three persons.

The engine, a 100 horse-power w^ater-
cooled Green, was mounted on bearers aft and
drove a four-bladed pusher propeller. The
petrol was carried in aluminium tanks
attached by fabric slings to the axis of the
envelope.

112 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

Six of these ships were completed in the
spring of 1917 and were quite satisfactory,
but owing to the success achieved by the
experimental S.S. Zero it was decided to
make this the standard type of S.S. ship, and
with the completion of the sixth the pro-
gramme of the S.S.P's was brought to a
close.

These ships enjoyed more than, perhaps,
was a fair share of misfortune, one was
wrecked on proceeding to its patrol station
and was found to be beyond repair, and
another was lost in a snowstorm in the far
north. The remainder, fitted at a later date
with 75 horse-power Rolls Royce engines,
proved to be a most valuable asset to our
fleet of small airships.

S.S. Zero

The original S.S. Zero was built at a south-
coast station by Air Service labour, and to
the design of three officers stationed there.
The design of the car shows a radical depar-
ture from anything that had been previously
attempted, and as a model an ordinary, boat
was taken. In shape it is as nearly stream-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 113

line as is practicable, having a keel and ribs
of wood with curved longitudinal members,
the strut ends being housed in steel sockets.
The whole frame is braced with piano wire
set diagonally between the struts. The car
is floored from end to end, and the sides are
enclosed with 3-ply wood covered with fabric.

Accommodation is provided for a wireless
telegraphy operator, who is also a gunner,
his compartment being situated forward,
amidships is the pilot and abaft this seat is a
compartment for the engineer.

The engine selected was the 75 horse-
power water-cooled Rolls Royce, it being
considered to be the most efficient for the
purpose. The engine is mounted upon
bearers above the level of the top of the car,
and drives a four-bladed pusher propeller.

The car is suspended from an envelope of
70,000 cubic feet capacity, and the system of
rigging is similar to that in use on all S.S.
ships. The petrol is carried in aluminium
tanks slung on the axis of the envelope,
identically with the system in use on the
S.S.P's. The usual elevator planes are
adopted with a single long rudder plane.

114 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

The speed of the Zero is about 45 miles per
hour and the ship has a theoretical endurance
of seventeen hours ; but this has been
largely exceeded in practice.

The original ship proved an immediate
success, and a large number was shortly
afterwards ordered.

As time went on the stations expanded
and sub-stations were added, while the Zero
airship was turned out as fast as it could
be built, until upwards of seventy had been
commissioned. The work these ships were
capable of exceeded the most sanguine ex-
pectations. Owing to their greater stability
in flight and longer hours of endurance, they
flew in weather never previously attempted
by the earlier ships. With experience gained
it was shown that a large fleet of airships of
comparatively small capacity is of far more
value for an anti-submarine campaign than
a lesser fleet of ships of infinitely greater
capacity. The average length of patrol was
eight hours, but some wonderful duration
flights were accomphshed in the summer of
1918, as the following figures will show. The
record is held by S.S.Z. 39, with 50 hours

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 115

55 minutes ; another is 30 hours 20 minutes ;
while three more vary from 25i hours to 26j.
Although small, the Zero airship has been
one of the successes of the war, and we can
claim proudly that she is entirely a British
product.

S.S. Twin

During the year 1917, designs were sub-
mitted for a twin-engined S.S. airship, the
idea being to render the small type of airship
less liable to loss from engine failure. The
first design proved to be a failure, but the
second was considered more promising, and
several were built. Its capacity is 100,000
cubic feet, with a length of 164 feet 6 inches,
and the greatest diameter 32 feet. The car
is built to carry five, with the engines dis-
posed on gantries on the port and starboard
side, driving pusher propellers. This type,
although in the experimental stage, is being
persevered with, and the intention is that it
will gradually supplant the other S.S. classes.
It is calculated that it will equal if not surpass
the C Star ship in endurance, besides being
easier to handle and certainly cheaper to build.

116 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

" Coastal " and " C Star " Airships

The urgent need for a non-rigid airship
to carry out anti-submarine patrol having
been satisfied for the time with the pro-
duction of the S.S.B.E. 2 C type, the airship
designers of the Royal Naval Air Service
turned their attention to the production of
an airship which would have greater lift and
speed than the S.S. type, and, consequently,
an augmented radius of action, together
with a higher degree of reliability. As the
name " Coastal " or " Coast Patrol " impHes,
this ship was intended to carry ^out extended
sea patrols.

To obtain these main requirements the
capacity of the envelope for this type was
fixed at 170,000 cubic feet, as compared with
the 60,000 cubic feet and, later, the 70,000
cubic feet envelopes adopted for the S.S. ships.
Greater speed was aimed at by fitting two
engines of 150 horse-power each, and it was
hoped that the chances of loss owing to
engine failure would be considerably mini-
mized.

The Astra-Torres type of envelope, with

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 117

its system of internal rigging, was selected
for this class of airship ; in the original ship
the envelope used was that manufactured
by the French Astra-Torres Company, and
to which it had been intended to rig a small
enclosed car. The ship in question was to
be known as No. 10. This plan was, how-
ever, departed from, and the car was sub-
sequently rigged to the envelope of the
Eta, and a special car was designed and
constructed for the original Coastal. Coastal
airship No. 1 was commissioned towards the
end of 1915 and was retained solely for experi-
mental and training purposes. Approxi-
mately thirty of these airships were con-
structed during the year 1916, and were
allocated to the various stations for patrol
duties.

The work carried out by these ships
during the two and a half years in which
they were in commission, is worthy of the
highest commendation. Before the advent
of later and more reliable ships, the bulk of
anti-submarine patrol on the east coast and
south-west coast of England was main-
tained by the Coastal. On the east

118 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

coast, with the prevailing westerly and
south-westerly winds, these airships had
many long and arduous voyages on their
return from patrol, and in the bitterness of
winter their difficulties were increased ten-
fold. To the whole-hearted efforts of
Coastal pilots and crews is due, to a great
extent, the recognition which somewhat
tardily was granted to the Airship Service.

The envelope of the Coastal airship has
been shown to be of 170,000 cubic feet
capacity. It is trilobe in section to employ
the Astra-Torres system of internal and
external rigging. The great feature of this
principle is that it enables the car to be slung
much closer to the envelope than would be
possible with the tangential system on an
envelope of this size. As a natural con-
sequence there is far less head resistance,
owing to the much shorter rigging, between
the envelope and the car.

The shape of the envelope is not all that
could have been desired, for it is by no means
a true streamline, but has the same cross
section for the greater part of its length,
which tapers at either end to a point which

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 119

is slightly more accentuated aft. Owing
to the shape, these ships, in the early days
until experience had been gained, were
extremely difficult to handle, both on the
landing ground and also in the air. They
were extremely unstable both in a vertical
and horizontal plane, and were slow in
answering to their rudders and elevators.

The envelope is composed of rubber-
proofed fabric doped to hold the gas and
resist the effects of weather. Four ballonets
are situated in the envelope, two in each of
the lower lobes, air being conveyed to them
by means of a fabric air duct, which is
parallel to the longitudinal centre line of the
envelope, with transverse ducts connecting
each pair of ballonets. In earUer types of
the Coastal, the air scoop supplying air to
the air duct was fitted in the slip stream of the
forward engine, but later this was fitted aft
of the after engine.

Six valves in all are used, four air valves,
one fitted to each ballonet, and two gas
valves. These are situated well aft, one to
each of the lower lobes, and are fitted on
either side of the rudder plane. A top valve

120 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

is dispensed with because in practice when
an Astra-Torres envelope loses shape, the
tendency is for the tail to be pulled up-
wards by the rigging, with the result that
the two gas valves always remain operative.

Crabpots and non-return valves are em-
ployed in a similar manner to S.S. airships.

The Astra- Torres S3^stem of internal rigging
must now be described in some detail. The
envelope is made up of three longitudinal
lobes, one above and two below, which when
viewed end on gives it a trefoil appearance.
The internal rigging is attached to the ridges
formed on either side of the upper lobe,
where it meets the two side lobes. From
here it forms a V, when viewed cross section-
ally, converging at the ridge formed by the
two lobes on the underside of the envelope
which is known as the lower ridcfe.

To the whole length of the top ridges are
attached the internal rigging girdles and
also the lacing girdles to which are secured
the top and side curtains. These curtains
are composed of ordinary unproofed fabric
and their object is to make the envelope
keep its trilobe shape. They do not, how-

Main Suspensions.

CROSS SECTION OF COASTAL AIKSHIH

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 121

ever, divide the ship into separate gas com-
partments. The rigging girdle consists of a
number of fabric scallops through wliich run
strands of Italian hemp. These strands, of
which there are a large number, are led
towards the bottom ridge, where they are
drawn together and secured to a rigging sec-
tor. To these sectors the main external
rigging cables are attached. The diagram
shows better than any description this rigging
system.

Ten main suspensions are incorporated
in the Coastal envelope, of which three take
the handling guys, the remaining seven
support the weight of the car.

The horizontal fins with the elevator flaps,
and the vertical fin with the rudder flap, are
fixed to the ridges of the envelope.

The car was evolved in the first instance
by cutting away the tail portion of two Avro
seaplane fuselages and joining the forward
portions end on, the resulting car, therefore,
had engines at either end with seating
accommodation for four. The landing
chassis were altered, single skids being sub-
stituted for the wider landing chassis em-

122 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

ployed in the seaplane. The ear consists of
four longerons with struts vertical and cross,
and stiffened with vertical and cross bracing
wires. The sides are covered with fabric and
the flooring and fairing on the top of the car
are composed of three-ply wood. In the later
cars five seats were provided to enable a
second officer to be carried.

The engines are mounted on bearers at
each end of the car, and the petrol and oil
tanks were originally placed adjoining the
engines in the car. At a later date various
methods of carrying the petrol tanks were
adopted, in some cases they were slung from
the envelope and in others mounted on bearers
above the engines.

Wireless telegraphy is fitted as is the case
with all airships. In the Coastal a gun
is mounted on the top of the envelope, which
is reached by a climbing shaft passing
through the envelojDC, another mounting
being provided on the car itself.

Bombs are also carried on frames attached
to the car. Sunbeam engines originally
supplied the motive power, but at a later
date a 220 horse-power Renault was fitted

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 123

aft and a 100 horse-power Berliet forward.
With the greater engine power the ship's
capabihties were considerably increased.

Exceedingly long flights were achieved by
this type of ship, and those exceeding ten
hours are far too numerous to mention. The
most noteworthy of all gave a total of 24j
hours, which, at the time, had only once been
surpassed by any British airship.

Towards the end of 1917, these ships,
having been in commission for over two
years, were in many cases in need of a
complete refit. Several were put in order,
but it was decided that this pohcy should not
be continued, and that as each ship was no
longer fit for flying it should be replaced by
the more modern Coastal known as the
C Star.

The record of one of these ships so deleted
is surely worthy of special mention. She
was in commission for 2 years 75 days,
and averaged for each day of this period 3
hours 6 minutes flying. During this time
she covered upwards of 66,000 miles. From
this it will be seen that she did not pass her
life by any means in idleness.

124 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

" C Star " Airship

After considerable experience had been
gained with the Coastal, it became obvious
that a ship was required of greater capa-
bilities to maintain the long hours of escort
duty and also anti-submarine patrols. To
meet these requirements it was felt that a
ship could be constructed, not departing to
any extent from the Coastal, with which
many pilots were now quite familiar, but
which would show appreciable improvement
over its predecessor.

The design which was ultimately adopted
was known as the C Star, and provided an
envelope of 210,000 cubic feet, which secured
an extra ton and a quarter in lifting capacity.
This envelope, although of the Astra-Torres
type, was of streamline form, and in that
respect was a great advance on the early
shape as used in the Coastal. It is to all
intents and purposes the same envelope as
is used on the North Sea ships, but on a
smaller scale. An entirely new type of fabric
was employed for this purpose. The same
model of car was employed, but was made

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 125

more comfortable, the canvas covering for
the sides being replaced by three-ply wood.
In all other details the car remained entirely
the same. The standard power units were
a 100 horse-power Berhet forward and a Fiat
of 260 horse-power aft. The petrol tanks in
this design were carried inside the envelope,
which was quite a new departure.

These airships may be considered to have
been successful, though not perhaps to the
extent which was expected by their most
ardent admirers. With the advent of the
S.S. Twin it was resolved not to embark on
a large constructional programme, and when
the numbers reached double figures they were
no longer proceeded with. Notwithstanding
this the ships which were commissioned
carried out most valuable work, and, like
their prototypes, many fine flights were
recorded to their credit. Thirty-four and a
half hours was the record flight for this type
of ship, and another but little inferior was
thirty hours ten minutes. These flights
speak well for the endurance of the crews, as
it must be borne in mind that no sleeping
accommodation is possible in so small a car.

126 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

The Coastal airship played no small
part in the defeat of the submarine, but its
task was onerous and the enemy and the
elements unfortunately exacted a heavy toll.
A German wireless message received in this
country testified to the valiant manner in
which one of these ships met with destruction.

The " North Sea " Airship

The North Sea or N.S. airship was ori-
ginally designed to act as a substitute for the
Rigid, which, in 1916, was still a long way
from being available for work of practical
utility. From experience gained at this time
^vith airships of the Coastal type it was
thought possible to construct a large Non-
Rigid capable of carrying out flights of
twenty-four hours' duration, with a speed
of 55 to 60 knots, with sufficient accommoda-
tion for a double crew.

The main requirements fall under four
headings :

1. Capability to carry out flights of con-
siderable duration.

2. Great rehability.

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 127

3. The necessary lift to carry an ample
supply of fuel.

4. Adequate arrangements to accom-
modate the crew in comfort.

If these could be fulfilled the authorities
were satisfied that ships possessing these
qualifications would be of value to the Fleet
and would prove efficient substitutes until
rigid airships were available. The North Sea,
as may be gathered from its name, was
intended to operate on the east coasts of
these islands.

The first ship, when completed and put
through her trials, was voted a success, and
the others building were rapidly pushed on
with. When several were finished and ex-
perience had been gained, after long flights
had been carried out, the North Sea airship
suffered a partial eclipse and people were
inclined to reconsider their favourable
opinion. Thus it was that for many months
the North Sea airship was decidedly unpopu-
lar, and it was quite a common matter to hear
her described as a complete failure. The
main cause of the prejudice was the unsatis-

128 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

factory design of the propelling machinery,
which it will be seen later was modified
altogether, and coupled with other improve-
ments tm^ned a ship of doubtful value into
one that can only be commended.

The envelope is of 360,000 cubic feet
capacity, and is designed on the Astra- Torres
principle for the same reasons as held good
in the cases of the Coastal and C Star. All
the improvements which had been suggested
by the ships of that class were incorporated
in the new design, which was of streamline
shape throughout, and looked at in elevation
resembled in shape that of the S.S. airship.
Six ballonets are fitted, of which the total
capacity is 128,000 cubic feet, equivalent to
35.5 per cent, of the total volume. They are
fitted with crabpots and non-return valves
in the usual manner.

The rigging is of the Astra-Torres system,
and in no way differs from that explained in
the previous chapter. Nine fans of the in-
ternal rigging support the main suspensions
of the car, while similar fans both fore
and aft provide attachment for the hand-
hng guys. Auxiliary fans on the same prin-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 129

ciple support the petrol tanks and ballast
bag.

Four gas and six air valves in all are fitted,
all of which are automatic.

Two ripping panels are embodied in the
top lobe of the envelope.

The N.S. ship carries four fins, to three of
which are attached the elevator and rudder
flaps. The fourth, the top fin, is merely for
stabilizing purposes, the other three being
identical in design, and are fitted with the
ordinary system of wiring and kingposts to
prevent warping.

The petrol was originally carried in alumi-
nium tanks disposed above the top ridges of
the envelope, but this system was abandoned
owing to the aluminium supply pipes be-
coming fractured as the envelope changed
shape at different pressiu:es. They were
then placed inside the envelope, and this
rearrangement has given every satisfaction.

To the envelope of the N.S. is rigged a long
covered-in car. The framework of this is
built up of light steel tubes, the rectangular
transverse frames of which are connected by
longitudinal tubes, the whole structure being

130 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

braced by diagonal wires. The ear, which
tapers towards the stern, has a length of
35 feet, with a height of 6 feet. The forward
portion is covered with duralumin sheeting,
and the remainder with fabric laced to the
framework. Windows and portholes afford
the crew both light and space to see all that
is required. In the forward portion of the
car are disposed all the controls and navigat-
ing instruments, together with engine-tele-
graphs and voice pipes. Aft is the wireless
telegraphy cabin and sleeping accommoda-
tion for the crew.

A complete electrical installation is carried
of two dynamos and batteries for lights, sig-
nalling lamps, telephones, etc. The engines
are mounted in a power unit structure
separate from the car and reached by a
wooden gangwa}^ supported by wire cables.
This structure consists of two V-shaped
frameworks connected by a central frame
and by an under-structure to which floats
are attached. The mechanics' compartment
is built upon the central frame, and the
engine controls are operated from this cabin.

In the original power units two 250 horse-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 131

power Rolls Royce engines were fitted,
driving propellers on independent shafts
through an elaborate system of transmission.
This proved to be a great source of weakness,
as continual trouble was experienced with
this method, and a fracture sooner or later
occurred at the universal joint nearest to the
propeller. When the modified form of ship
was built the whole system of transmission
was changed, and the propellers were fitted
directly on to the engine crankshafts.

At a later date 240 horse-power Fiat engines
were installed, and the engineers' cabin was
modified and an auxiliary blower was fitted
to supply air to the ballonets for use if the
engines are not running.

In the N.S. ship as modified the car has
been raised to the same level as the engineers'
cabin, and all excrescences on the envelope
were placed inside. This, added to the im-
provement effected by the abolition of the
transmission shafts, increased the reliability
and speed of the ship, and also caused a
reduction in weight.

The leading dimensions of the ship are as
follows : length, 262 feet ; width, 56 feet

132 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

9 inches ; height, 69 feet 3 inches. The gross
lift is 24,300 lb. ; the disposable lift, without
crew, petrol, oil, and ballast, 8,500 lb. The
normal crew carried when on patrol is ten,
which includes officers.

As in the case of the Coastal, a gun is
mounted on the top of the envelope, which is
approached by a similar climbing shaft, and
guns and bombs are carried on the car.

These ships have become notorious for
breaking all flying records for non-rigid
airships. Even the first ship of the class,
despite the unsatisfactory power units, so
long ago as in the summer of 1917 completed
a flight of 49 hours 22 minutes, which at the
time was the record flight of any British
airship. Since that date numerous flights
of quite unprecedented duration have been
achieved, one of 61 i hours being particularly
noteworthy, and those of upwards of 30 hours
have become quite commonplace.

Since the Armistice one of these ships com-
pleted the unparalleled total of 101 hours,
which at that date was the world's record
flight, and afforded considerable evidence as
to the utihty of the non-rigid type for over-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 133

seas patrol, and even opens up the possi-
bility of employing ships of similar or slightly
greater dimensions for commercial purposes.

N.S. 6 appeared several times over London
in the summer months of 1918, and one
could not help being struck by the ease with
which she was steered and her power to
remain almost stationary over such a small
area as Trafalgar Square for a quite con-
siderable period.

The flights referred to above were not in
any way stunt performances to pile up a
handsome aggregate of hours, but were the
ordinary flying routine of the station to
which the ships were attached, and most of
the hours were spent in escorting convoys
and hunting for submarines. In addition to
these duties, manoeuvres were carried out on
occasions with the Fleet or units thereof.

From the foregoing observations it must
be manifest that this type of ship, in its
present modified state, is a signal success,
and is probably the best large non-rigid
airship that has been produced in any
country.

For the purposes of comparison it will be

134

BRITISH AIRSHIPS

interesting to tabulate the performances of
the standard types of non-rigid airships.
The leading dimensions are also included in
this summary :

Type

S.S. Zero

S.S. Twin

Coastal
Star

North
Sea

Length

143' 0"

165' 0"

218' 0"

262' 0"

Overall width

82' 0"

35' 6"

49' 3"

56' 9"

Overall height

46' 0"

49' 0"

57' 6"

69' 3"

Hydrogen ca-

pacity (cubic

feet)

70,000

100,000

210,000

360,000

Gross lift (lb.)

4,900

7,000

14,500

24,300

Disposable

lift (lb.) . .

1,850

2,200

4,850

8,500

Crew

3

4

5

10

Lift available

for fuel and

freight (lb.)

1,370

1,540

4,050

6,900

Petrol con-

sumption at

full speed

(lb. per hour)

3.6

7.2

18.4

29.8

Gals, per hour

0.36

0.72

2.05

3

CHAPTER VII

Naval Airships. — The Ri^ids
Rigid Airship No. 1

The responsibility for the development of
the Rigid airship having been allotted to the
Navy, with this object in view, in the years
1908 and 1909 a design was prepared by
Messrs. Viekers Ltd., in conjunction with
certain naval officers, for a purely experi-
mental airship which should be as cheap as
possible. The ship was to be known as Naval
Airship No. 1, and though popularly called
the Mayfly, this title was in no way
official. In design the following main objects
were aimed at :

1. The airship was to be capable of
carrying out the duties of an aerial
scout.

2. She was to be able to maintain a
speed of 40 knots for twenty-four
hours, if possible.

135

136 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

3. She was to be so designed that moor-
ing to a mast on the water was to be
feasible, to enable her to be independ-
ent of her shed except for docking
purposes, as in the case with surface
vessels.

4. She was to be fitted with wireless
telegraphy.

5. Arrangements were to be made for
the accommodation of the crew in
reasonable comfort.

6. She was to be capable of ascending to
a height of not less than 1,500 feet.

These conditions rendered it necessary
that the airship should be of greater dimen-
sions than any built at the time, together
with larger horse-power, etc.

These stipulations having been settled by
the Admiralty, the Admiralty officials, in
conjunction with Messrs. Vickers Ltd., deter-
mined the size, shape, and materials for the
airship required. The length of the ship was
fixed at approximately 500 feet, with a dia-
meter of 48 feet. Various shapes were con-
sidered, and the one adopted was that recom-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 137

mended by an American professor named
Zahm. In this shape a great proportion of
the longitudinal hull framework is parallel
sided with curved bow and stern portions,
the radius of these curved portions being, in
the case of the bow, twice the diameter of
the hull, and in the case of the stern nine
times the same diameter. Experiments
proved that the resistance of a ship of this
shape was only two-fifths of the resistance
of a ship of the same dimensions, having the
1| calibre bow and stern of the Zeppelin
airships at that time constructed.

A considerable difference of opinion existed
as to the material to be chosen for the con-
struction of the hull. Bamboo, wood, alu-
minium, or one of its alloys, were all con-
sidered. The first was rejected as unreliable.
The second would have been much stronger
than aluminium, and was urged by Messrs.
Vickers. The Admiralty, however, con-
sidered that there was a certainty of better
alloys being produced, and as the ship was
regarded as an experiment and its value
would be largely negatived if later ships
were constructed of a totally different

138 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

material, aluminium or an alloy was selected.
The various alloys then in existence showed
little advantage over the pure metal, so pure
aluminium was specified and ordered. This
metal was expected to have a strength of ten
tons per square inch, but that which arrived
was found to be very unreliable, and many
sections had, on test, only half the strength
required. The aluminium wire intended for
the mesh wiring of the framework was also
found to be extremely brittle. A section of
the framework was, however, erected, and
also one of wood, as a test for providing com-
parisons. In the tests, the wooden sections
proved, beyond all comparison, the better,
but the Admiralty persisted in their decision
to adopt the metal.

Towards the end of 1909 a new aluminium
alloy was discovered, known as duralumin.
Tests were made which proved that this new
metal possessed a strength of twenty-five
tons per square inch, which was over twice
as strong as the nominal strength of alumi-
nium, and in practice was really five times
stronger. The specific gravity of the new
metal varied from 2.75 to 2.86, as opposed

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 139

to the 2.56 of aluminium. As the weights
were not much different it was possible to
double the strength of the ship and save one
ton in weight. Duralumin was therefore at
once adopted. The hull structure was com-
posed of twelve longitudinal duralumin girders
which ran fore and aft the length of the ship
and followed the external shape. The girders
were secured to a steel nose-piece at the bow
and a pointed stern- piece aft. These girders,
built of duralumin sections, were additionally
braced wherever the greatest weights occurred.
To support these girders in a thwartship
direction a series of transverse frames were
placed at 12 feet 6 inches centres throughout
the length of the ship, and formed, when
viewed cross-sectionally, a universal polygon
of twelve sides. For bracing purposes mesh
wiring stiffened each bay longitudinally, so
formed by the junction of the running girders
and the transverse frames, while the trans-
verse frames between the gasbags were
stiffened with radial wiring which formed a
structure similar to a wheel with its spokes.
The frames where the gondolas occurred
were strengthened to take the additional

140 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

weight, while the longitudinals were also
stiffened at the bow and stern.

Communication was provided between the
gondolas by means of an external keel which
was suspended from extra keel longitudinals.
In this design the keel was provided for
accommodation purposes only, and in no way
increased the structural stabihty of the ship
as in No. 9 and later ships. This keel, tri-
angular in section, widened out amidships to
form a space for a cabin and the wireless
compartment. The fins and rudders, which
were adopted, were based entirely on sub-
marine experience, and the Zeppelin method
was ignored. The fins were fitted at the stern
of the ship only, and comprised port and
starboard horizontal fins, which followed
approximately the shape of the hull, and an
upper and lower vertical fin. Attached to
these fins were box rudders and elevators,
instead of the balanced rudders first pro-
posed. Auxiliary rudders were also fitted in
case of a breakdown of the main steering gear
abaft the after gondola. Elevators and rudders
were controlled from the forward gondola and
the auxiliary rudders from the after gondola.

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 141

The gasbags were seventeen in number
and were twelve-sided in section, giving
approximately a volume of 663,000 cubic feet
when completely full. Continental fabric,
as in use on the Zeppelin airships, was
adopted, although the original intention was
to use goldbeater's skin, but this was aban-
doned owing to shortage of material. These
bags were fitted with the Parseval type of
valve, which is situated at the top, contrary
to the current Zeppelin practice, wliich had
automatic valves at the bottom of the bags,
and hand-operated valves on the top of a
few bags for control purposes. Nets were
laced to the framework to prevent the bags
bulging through the girders.

The whole exterior of the hull was fitted
with an outer cover ; Zeppelin at this time
used a plain light rubber-proofed fabric, but
this was not considered suitable for a ship
which was required to be moored in the open,
as in wet weather the material would get
saturated and water-logged. Various ex-
periments were carried out w^ith cotton, silk
and ramie, and, as a result, silk treated with
loco was finally selected. This cover was

142 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

laced Avith cords to the girder work, and cover-
strips rendered the whole impervious to wet.
Fire-proofed fabric was fitted in wake of the
gondolas for safety from the heat of the
engines.

Two gondolas, each comprising a control
compartment and engine-room, were sus-
pended from the main framework of the hull.
They were shaped to afford the least resist-
ance possible to the air, and were made of
Honduras mahogany, three-ply where the
ballast tanks occurred, and two-ply else-
where. The plies were sewn together with
copper wire. The gondolas were designed to
have sufficient strength to withstand the
strain of alighting on the water. They were
suspended from the hull by wooden struts
streanihne in shape, and fitted with internal
steel- wire ropes ; additional wire suspensions
were also fitted to distribute the load over a
greater length of the ship. The engines were
carried in the gondolas on four hollow wooden
struts, also fitted internally with wire. The
wires were intended to support the gondolas
in the event of the struts being broken in
making a heavy landing.

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 143

Two engines were mounted, one in each
gondola, the type used being the S-cyhnder
vertical water-cooled Wolseley developing a
horse-power of 160. The forward engine
drove two wing propellers through the
medium of bevel gearing, while the after
engine drove a single large propeller aft
through a gear box to reduce the propeller
revolutions to half that of the engine. The
estimated speed of the ship was calculated
to be 42 miles per hour, petrol was carried in
tanks, fitted in the keel, and the water ballast
tanks were placed close to the keel and con-
nected together by means of a pipe.

No. 1 was completed in May, 1911. She
had been built at Barrow in a shed erected
on the edge of Cavendish Dock. Arrange-
ments were made that she should be towed
out of the shed to test her efficiency at a
mooring post which had been prepared in
the middle of the dock. She was launched
on May 22nd in a flat calm and was warped
out of the shed and hauled to the post where
she was secured without incident. The ship
rode at the mooring post in a steady wind,
which at one time increased to 36 miles per

144 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

hour, until the afternoon of May 25th, and
sustained no damage whatever. Various
engine trials were carried out, but no attempt
was made to fly, as owing to various reasons
the ship was short of lift. Valuable informa-
tion was, however, gained in handling the
ship, and much was learnt of her behaviour
at the mast. More trouble was experienced
in getting her back into the shed, but she
was eventually housed without sustaining
any damage of importance.

Owing to the lack of disposable Hft, the bags
were deflated and various modifications were
carried out to lighten the ship, of which the
principal were the removal of the keel and
cabin entirely, and the removal of the water-
trimming services. Other minor alterations
were made which gave the ship, on com-
pletion, a disposable lift of 3.21 tons. The
transverse frames between the gasbags were
strengthened, and a number of broken wires
were replaced.

On September 22nd the ship w^as again
completed, and on the 24th she was again
to be taken out and tested at the mooring
post. Unfortunately, while being hauled

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 145

across the dock, the framework of the ship
collapsed, and she was got back into the shed
the same day.

Examination showed that it was hopeless
to attempt to reconstruct her, and she was
broken up at a later date. The failure of this
ship was a most regrettable incident, and
increased the prejudice against the rigid
airship to such an extent that for some time
the Navy refused to entertain any idea of
attempting a second experiment.

Rigid Airship No. 9

Rigid Airship No. 1 having met with such
a calamitous end, the authorities became
rather dubious as to the wisdom of con-
tinuing such costly experiments. Most un-
fortunately, as the future showed and as v/as
the opinion of many at the time, rigid con-
struction in the following year 1912 was
ordered to be discontinued. This decision
coincided with the disbanding of the Naval
Air Service, and for a time rigid airships in
this country were consigned to the limbo of
forgetfulness.

After the Naval Air Service had been re-

146 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

constituted, the success which attended the
Zeppehn airships in Germany could no longer
be overlooked, and it was decided to make
another attempt to build a rigid airship in
conformity with existing Zeppelin construc-
tion. The first proposals were put forward
in 1913, and, finally, after eleven months
delay, the contract was signed. This airship,
it has been seen, was designated No. 9.

No. 9 experienced numerous vicissitudes,
during the process of design and later when
construction was in progress. The contract
having been signed in March, 1914, work on
the ship was suspended in the following
February, and was not recommenced until
July of the same year. From that date on-
wards construction was carried forward ; but
so many alterations were made that it was
fiilly eighteen months before the ship was
completed and finally accepted by the
Admiralty.

The ship as designed was intended "to be
generally in conformity ^^ith existing Zeppe-
lin construction/' with the following main
requirements stipulated for in the specifica-
tion:

0)

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 147

1. She was to attain a speed of at least
45 miles per hour at the full power of
the engines.

2. A minimum disposable lift of five
tons was to be available for movable
weights.

3. She was to be capable of rising to a
height of 2,000 feet during flight.

The design of this ship was prepared by
Messrs. Vickers, Ltd., and as it was con-
sidered likely that owing to inexperience the
ship would probably be roughly handled and
that heavy landings might be made, it was
considered that the keel structure and also
the cars should be made very strong in case
of accidents occurring. This, while materially
increasing the strength of the ship, added to
its weight, and coupled with the fact that mo-
difications were made in the design, rendered
the lift somewhat disappointing. The hull
structure was of the " Zahm " shape as in
No. 1, a considerable portion being parallel
sided, while in transverse section it formed a
17-sided polygon. In length it was 526 feet
with a maximum diameter of 53 feet. The

148 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

hull framework was composed of triangular
duralumin girders, both in the longitudinal
and transverse frames, while the bracing
was carried out by means of high tensile
steel wires and duralumin tubes. Attached
to the hull was a V-shaped keel composed
of tubes with suitable wire bracings, and in it
a greater part of the strength of the structure
lay. It was designed to withstand the
vertical forces and bending moments which
resulted from the lift given by the gasbags
and the weights of the car and the cabin.
The keel also provided the walking way from
end to end of the ship, and amidships was
widened out to form a cabin and wireless
compartment.

The wiring of the transverse frames was
radial and performed similar functions to
the spokes of a bicycle wheel. These wires
could be tightened up at the centre at a
steel ring through which they were threaded
and secured by nuts.

In addition to the radial wires were the
lift wires, which were led to the two points
on the transverse frames which were attached
to the keel ; on the inflation of the gasbags,

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 149

the bags themselves pressed upon the longi-
tudinal girders on the top of the ship, which
pressure was transferred to the transverse
frames and thence by means of the several
lift wires to the keel. In this way all the
stresses set up by the gas were brought
finally to the keel in which we have already
said lay the main strength of the ship.

The hull was divided by the transverse
frames into seventeen compartments each
containing a single gasbag. The bags were
composed of rubber-proofed fabric lined with
goldbeater's skin to reduce permeability, and
when completely full gave a total volume of
890,000 cvibic feet. Two types of valve
were fitted to each bag, one the Parseval
type of valve with the pressm-e cone as
fitted in No. 1, the other automatic but also
controlled by hand.

To distribute the pressure evenly through-
out the upper longitudinal frames, and also
to prevent the gasbags bulging between the
girders, nets were fitted throughout the w^hole
structure of the hull.

The whole exterior of the ship was fitted
with an outer cover, to protect the gasbags

150 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

and hull framework from weather and to ren-
der the outer surface of the ship symmetrical
and reduce " skin friction " and resistance
to the air to a minimum. To enable this
cover to be easily removed it was made in
two sections, a port and starboard side for
each gasbag. The covers were laced to the
hall framework and the connections were
covered over w4th sealing strips to render
the whole weathertight.

The system of fins for stabilizing purposes
on No. 9 were two — ^vertical and horizontal.
The vertical fin was composed of two parts,
one above and the other below the centre
line of the ship. They were constructed of
a framework of duralumin girders, covered
over with fabric. The fins were attached
on one edge to the hull structure and wire
braced from the other edge to various posi-
tions on the hull. The horizontal fins were
of similar design and attached in a like man-
ner to the hull.

Triplane rudders and biplane elevators of
the box type were fitted in accordance with
the German practice of the time. Auxiliary
biplane rudders were fitted originally abaft

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 151

the after car, but during the first two trial
flights they proved so very unsatisfactory
that it was decided to remove them.

Two cars or gondolas were provided to act
as navigating compartments and a housing
for the engines, and in design were calculated
to offer the least amount of head resistance
to the wind. The cars were composed of
duralumin girders, which formed a flooring,
a main girder running the full length of the
car with a series of transverse girders spaced
in accordance with the main loads. From
each of these transverse girders vertical
standards with a connecting piece on top
were taken and the whole exterior was
covered with duralumin plating. The cars
were suspended in the following manner.
Two steel tubes fitting into a junction piece
at each end were bolted to brackets at the
floor level at each end of the transverse
girders. They met at an apex above the
roof level and were connected to the tubing
of the keel. In addition, to distribute the
weight and prevent the cars from rocking,
steel wire suspensions were led to certain
fixed points in the hull.

152 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

Each car was divided into two parts by a
bulkhead, the forward portion being the
control compartment in which w^ere disposed
all instruments, valve and ballast controls,
and all the steering and elevating arrange-
ments. Engine-room telegraphs, voice pipes
and telephones were fitted up for communi-
cation from one part of the ship to the other.
The keel could be reached by aladder from each
car, thus providing with the climbing shaft
through the hull access to all parts of the ship.

The original engine equipment of No. 9
was composed of four Wolseley-Maybach
engines of 180 horse-power each, two being
installed in the forward car and two in the
after car. As the ship w^as deficient in lift
after the initial flight trials had been carried
out, it was decided to remove the two engines
from the after car and replace them with a
single engine of 250 horse-power ; secondly, to
remove the swivelling propeller gear from
the after car and substitute one directly-
driven propeller astern of the car. This as
anticipated reduced the weight very con-
siderably and in no way lessened the speed
of the ship.

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 153

The forward engines drove two four-bladed
swivelling propellers through gear boxes and
transmission shafts, the whole system being
somewhat complicated, and was opposed to
the Zeppelin practice at the time which
employed fixed propellers.

The after engine drove a large two-bladed
propeller direct off the main shaft.

The petrol and water ballast were carried
in tanks situated in the keel and the oil was
carried in tanks beneath the floors ot the
cars.

The wireless cabin was situated as before
mentioned in a cabin in the keel of the ship,
and the plant comprised a main transmitter,
an auxiliary transmitter and receiver and
the necessary aerial for radiating and re-
ceiving.

No. 9 was inflated in the closing days of
1916, and the disposal lift was found to be
2.1 tons under the specification conditions,
namely, barometer 29.5 inches and tempera-
ture 55 degrees ^'ahrenheit. The contract
requirements had been dropped to 3.1 tons,
which showed that the ship was short by one
ton of the lift demanded. The flight trials

154 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

were, however, carried out, which showed
that the ship had a speed of about 42 J miles
per hour.

The alterations previously mentioned were
afterwards made, the bags of the ship were
changed and another lift and trim trial was
held in March, 1917, when it was found that
these had had the satisfactory result of
increasing the disposable hft to 3.8 tons or
.7 ton above the contract requirements, and
with the bags 100 per cent, full gave a total
disposable lift of 5.1 tons.

Additional trials were then carried out,
which showed that the speed of the ship had
not been impaired.

For reference purposes the performances
of the ship are tabulated below.

Speed :

Full 45 miles per hour

Normal =2/3 38

Cruising =1/3 32 „ „

Endurance :

Full 18 hours = 800 miles

Normal 26 „ =1,000 „
Cruising 50 „ =1,600 „

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 155

No. 9 having finished her trials was accepted
by the Admiralty in Mar. 1917,and left Barrow,
where she had been built, for a patrol station.

In many ways she was an excellent ship,
for it must be remembered that when com-
pleted she was some years out-of-date judged
by Zeppelin standards. Apart from the
patrol and convoy work which she accom-
plished, she proved simply invaluable for
the training of officers and men selected to
be the crews of future rigid airships. Many
of these received their initial training in her,
and there were few officers or men in the
airship service who were not filled with regret
when orders were issued that she was to be
broken up. The general feeling was that
she should have been preserved as a lasting
exhibition of the infancy of the airship service,
but unfortunately rigid airships occupy so
much space that there is no museum in the
country which could have accommodated her.
So she passed, and, except for minor trophies,
remains merely a recollection.

Rigid Airship No. 23 Class
After the decision had been made in 1915

156 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

that work on No. 9 should be restarted, the
Admiralty determined that a programme of
rigid airships should be embarked upon, and
design was commenced. Several ships of
the same class were ordered, and the type
was to be known as the 23 class. Progress
on these ships, although slow, was more
rapid than had been the case with No. 9, and
by the end of 1917 three were completed and
a fourth was rapidly approaching that state.
The specification, always ambitious, laid
down the following main stipulations.

(1) The ship is to attain a speed of at

least 55 miles per hour for the main
power of the engines.

(2) A minimum of 8 tons is to be avail-

able tor disposable weights when
full.

(3) The ship must be capable of rising

at an average rate of not less than
1,000 feet per minute, through a
height of 3,000 feet starting from
nearly sea level.

As ^vill be seen later this class of ship,
although marking a certain advance on No. 9

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 157

both as regards workmanship and design,
proved on the whole somewhat disappointing,
and it became more evident every day that
we had allowed the Germans to obtain such
a start in the race of airship construction as
we could ill afford to concede.

We may here state that all of the ships of
this class which had been ordered were not
completed, the later numbers being modified
into what was known as the 23 X class ;
four in all of the 23 class were built, of which
two — Nos. 23 and 26 — were built by Messrs.
Vickers, Ltd., at Barrow, No. 24 by Messrs.
Wm. Beardmore and Co., at Glasgow, and
No. 25 by Messrs. Armstrong, Whitworth and
Co., at Selby, Yorkshire.

In many respects the closest similarity of
design exists between No. 9 and No. 23,
especially in the hull, but it will be of interest
to mention the sahent differences between the
two ships.

The length of the hull, which in No. 9 was
520 feet, was increased in No. 23 to 535 feet,
and the number of gasbags from seventeen
to eighteen. This gave a total volume of
997,500 cubic feet compared with 890,000

158 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

cubic feet in No. 9, with a disposable lift under
specification conditions of 5.7 tons as opposed
to 3.8 tons.

The longitudinal shape of No. 23 is a modi-
fied form of " Zahm " shape, the radius of
the bow portion being twice the diameter
of the parallel portion, while the stern radius
is three times the same diameter.

In design the hull framework is almost a
repetition of No. 9, particularly in the
parallel portion, the same longitudinal and
transverse frames dividing the huU into
compartments, with tubes completely en-
circling the section between each main
transverse frame. The system of wiring the
hull is precisely the same in both the ships,
and nets are employed in the same way.

The triangular section of keel is adhered
to, but its functions in No. 23 are somewhat
different. In No. 9 it was intended to be
sufficiently strong to support all the main
vertical bending moments and shearing forces,
but in No. 23 it was primarily intended to
support the distributed weights of water
ballast, petrol tanks, etc., between the main
transverse frames. Unlike No. 9, the keel is

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 159

attached to the main transverse frames only.
The cabin and wireless cabin are disposed in
the keel in the same manner, and it also
furnishes a walking way for the total length
of the ship.

The stabilizing fins, both vertical and
horizontal, are similar to those attached to
No. 9, but the system of rudders and elevators
is totally different. In place of the box
rudders and elevators in No. 9, single balanced
rudders and elevators are attached to the
fins ; they have their bearing on the out-
board side on the external girders of the fins,
which are extended for the purpose. The
elevators and rudders are composed of a
duralumin framework, stiffened by a king-
post on either side with bracing wires.

The bags, eighteen in number, are made of
rubber-proofed fabric lined with goldbeater's
skin. It is interesting to note that the
number of skins used for the bags of a ship
of this class is approximately 350,000. The
system of valves is entirely different from
that in No. 9. The Parseval type of valve
with the pressure cone at the bottom of the
bag is omitted, and in the place of the two top

160 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

valves in the former ship are a side valve of
the Zeppelin type entirely automatic and a
top valve entirely hand controlled. The
side valve is set to blow off at a pressure of
from 3 to 5 millimetres. The outer cover
was fitted in the same manner as in No. 9.
Two cars or gondolas, one forward, the other
aft, each carry one engine provided with
swivelling propellers and gears. They are
enclosed with sides and a fireproof roof, and
are divided into two compartments, one the
navigating compartment, the other the engine
room. The cars are in all respects very
similar to those of No. 9, and are suspended
from the hull in a similar manner. The
remaining two engines are carried in a small
streamline car situated amidships, which
has just sufficient room in it for the mechanics
to attend to them. Originally this car was
open at the top, but it was found that the
engineers suffered from exposure, and it was
afterwards roofed in.

The engine arrangements in this ship were
totally different to those of No. 9, four 250
horse-power Rolls Royce engines being in-
stalled in the following order. Single engines

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 161

are fitted in both the forward and after cars,
each driving two swivelhng four-bladed pro-
pellers. In the centre car two similar engines
are placed transversely, which drive single
fixed propellers mounted on steel tube out-
riggers through suitable gearing.

The engines are the standard 12 cylinder V-
type Rolls Royce which will develop over
300 brake horse-power at full throttle
opening. The engine is water cooled, and
in the case of those in the forward and after
cars the original system consisted of an
internal radiator supphed by an auxiliary
water tank carried in the keel. It was found
on the flight trials that the cooling was
insufficient, and external radiators were fitted,
the internal radiator and fan being removed.
In the case of the centre car no alteration
was necessary, as external radiators were fitted
in the first instance.

The engines are supported by two steel
tubes held by four brackets bolted to the
crank case, these being carried by twelve
dm^alumin tubes bolted to the bearers and
transverse frames of the car respectively.
The drive from the engine is transmitted

162 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

through a universal joint to a short longi-
tudinal shaft, running on ball bearings.
This shaft gears into two transverse shafts,
which drive the propellers through the
medium of a gear box to the propeller shafts,
making five shafts in all.

The engines in the centre car being placed
transversely the transmission is more direct,
the engines driving the propellers through
two gear wheels only. The propeller gear
box is supported by steel tube outriggers
attached by brackets to the framework of the
ear. The petrol is carried in a series of tanks
situated beneath the keel walking way, and
are interconnected so that any tank either
forward or aft can supply any engine, by this
means affording assistance for the trimming
of the ship.

Four-bladed propellers are used throughout
the ship.

Water ballast is carried in fabric bags also
situated beneath the keel walking way, and a
certain amount is also carried beneath the
floor of the car.

Engine-room telegraphs, swivelling pro-
peller telegraphs, speaking tubes and tele-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 163

phones, with a hghting set for the illumina-
tion of the cars and keel, were all fitted in
accordance with the practice standard in all
rigid airships.

The lift and trim trials taken before the
initial flight trials showed that the ship
possessed a disposable lift under standard
conditions of 5.7 tons. The original dis-
posable lift demanded by the specification
was 8 tons but this was reduced by 2 tons
owing to the machinery weights being 2 tons
in excess of the estimate. Since then these
weights had been increased by another half-
ton, making a total of 2 J tons over the original
estimate. It was evident that with so small
a margin of lilt these ships would never be
of real use, and it was decided to remove
various weights to increase the hft and to
substitute a wing car of a similar type to
those manufactured for the R 33 class for the
heavy after car at present in use.

R 23 carried out her trials without the
alteration to the car, which was effected at
a later date, and the same procedure was
adopted with R 21 and R 25. In the case
of R 26, however, she had not reached the

164 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

same stage of completion as the other two
ships, and the alterations proposed for them
were embodied in her dm^ing construction.
The gasbags were of hghter composition, all
cabin fm^niture was omitted and the wing
car was fitted in place of the original after
car. This wing car is of streamline shape
with a rounded bow and tapered stern. The
lower portion is plated with duralumin
sheets and the upper part is covered ^\dth
canvas attached to hght wooden battens to
give the necessary shape. This effected a
very considerable reduction in weight. The
original 250 horse-power Rolls Royce engine
was installed, now driving a single large two-
bladed propeller astern. A test having been
taken, it was found that the disposable lift
imder standard conditions was 6.28 tons.
It was therefore decided that all the ships
of the class should be modified to this design
when circumstances permitted. Speed trials
were carried out under various conditions of
running, when it was found that the ship
possessed a speed of 54| miles per hour with
the engines running full out.

To summarize the performances of these

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 165

ships as we did in the ease of No. 9, we
find:

Speed :

Full 54 i miles per hour

Normal =2/3 48

Cruising =1/3 38

Endurance :
Full 18 hours = 1,000 miles

Normal 26 „ = 1,250 „
Cruising 50 „ = 1,900 „

The production of the rigid airship during
the war was always surrounded with a cloak
of impenetrable mystery. Few people, except
those employed on their construction or who
happened to live in the immediate vicinity
of where they were built, even knew of their
existence, and such ignorance prevailed con-
cerning airships of every description that the
man in the street hailed a small non-rigid as
"the British Zeppelin "or admired the appear-
ance of R 23 as '' the Silver Queen." The
authorities no doubt knew their own business
in fostering this ignorance, although for many
reasons it was unfortunate that pubhc interest
was not stimulated to a greater degree. In

166 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

the summer months of 1918, however, they
relented to a certain extent, and R 23 and
one of her sister ships were permitted to make
several flights over London to the intense
delight of thousands of its inhabitants, and a
certain amount of descriptive matter appeared
in the Press.

From that time onwards these large air-
ships have completely captured the popular
imagination, and many absurd rumours and
exaggerations have been circulated regarding
their capabilities. It has been gravely stated
that these airships could accomplish the
circuit of the globe and perform other feats
of the imagination. It must be confessed
that their merits do not warrant these
extravagant assertions. The fact remains,
however, that R 23 and her sister ship R 26
have each carried out patrols of upwards of 40
hours' duration and that, similarly to No. 9,
they have proved of the greatest value for
training airshijD crews and providing experi-
ence and data for the building programme
of the future. At the present time highly
interesting experiments are being carried out
with them to determine the most efficient

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 167

system of mooring in the open, which will be
discussed at some length in the chapter
dealing with the airship of the future.

Rigid Airship 23 X Class

During the early days of building the air-
ships of the 23 class, further information was
obtained relating to rigid airship construc-
tion in Germany, which caused our designers
to modify their views. It was considered a
wrong policy to continue the production of a
fleet of ships the design of which was be-
coming obsolete, and accordingly within ten
months of placing the order for this class a
decision was reached that the last four ships
were to be altered to a modified design known
as the 23 X class. As was the case with the
ships of the preceding class w^hen nearing
completion, they were realized to be out of
date, and special efforts being required to
complete the ships of the 33 class and to
release building space for additional larger
ships, the construction of the second pair
was abandoned.

The main modification in design was the
abolition of the external keel, and in this the

168 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

later Zeppelin principles were adopted. This
secured a very considerable reduction in
structural weight with a corresponding large
expansion of the effective capabihties of the
ship.

It has been seen that the purpose of the
keel in No. 9 was to provide a structure
sufficiently strong to support all the main
vertical bending moments and shearing forces,
and that in No. 23 this principle was some-
what different, in that the keel in this ship
was primarily intended to support the dis-
tributed weights of petrol, water, ballast, etc.,
between the transverse frames.

In this later design, namely, the 23 X class,
it was considered that the weights could be
concentrated and suspended from the radial
wiring of the transverse frames and that the
keel, incorporated in the design of the former
ships, could be dispensed with.

For all practical purposes, apart from the
absence of the keel, the 23 X class of airship
may be regarded as a slightly varied model
of the 23 class. The main dimensions are
nearly the same, and the general arrangement
of the ship is but little changed. The loss of

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 169

space owing to the introduction of the in-
ternal corridor is compensated by a modifi-
cation of the shape of the bow, which was
redesigned with a deeper curve. The hull
structure was also strengthened by utilizing
a stronger type of girder wherever the greatest
weights occur. In these strengthened trans-
verse frames the girders, while still remaining
of the triangular section, familiar in the other
ships, are placed the opposite way round, that
is, with the apex pointing outwards.

The walking way is situated at the base of
the hull passing through the gas chambers,
which are specially shaped for the purpose.
The corridor is formed of a light construction
of hollow wooden struts and duralumin
arches covered with netting.

In all other leading features the design of
the 23 class is adhered to ; the gasbags are the
same, except for the alteration due to the
internal corridor, and the system of valves
and the various controls are all highly
similar.

The arrangement of gondolas and the
fitting of engines in all ways corresponds to
the original arrangement of R 23, with the

170 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

exception that they were suspended closer to
the hull owing to the absence of the external
keel. The substitution of the wing car of
the 33 class for the original after gondola,
carried out in the modifications undergone by
the ships of the 23 class, was not adopted
in these ships, as the wireless compartment
installed in the keel in the former was fitted
in the after gondola in the latter.

The disposable lift of these ships under
standard conditions is 7 J tons, which shows
considerable improvement on the ships of the
former classes.

Summarizing as before, the performances
appear as under —

Speed :

Full

5Q\ miles per hour

Normal

53

Cruising

45 j> jj

Endurance :

Normal

19 hours = 1,015 miles

Cruising

231 ^, =1,050 „

The two ships of this class, which were
commissioned, must be regarded within
certain limits as most satisfactory, and are

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 171

the most successful of those that appeared
and were employed during the war. Escort
of convoys and extended anti-submarine
patrols were carried out, and certain valuable
experiments will be attempted now that peace
has arrived.

In spite of the grave misgivings of many
critics, the structure without the keel has
proved amply strong, and no mishap attended
this radical departure on the part of the
designers.

Rigid Airship No. 31 Class

The airship known as R 31 was a complete
deviation from any rigid airship previously
built in this country. In this case the experi-
ment was tried of constructing it in wood in
accordance with the practice adopted by
the Schutte-Lanz Company in Germany. It
must be frankly acknowledged that this
experiment resulted in failure. The ship
when completed showed great improvement
both in shape, speed and lifting capacity over
any airship commissioned in this country, and
as a whole the workmanship exhibited in her
construction was exquisite. Unfortunately,

172 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

under the conditions to which it was sub-
jected, the hull structure did not prove
durable, and to those conditions the failure is
attributed. Under different circumstances
it may be hoped that the second ship, when
completed, will prove more fortunate.

In length R 31 was 615 feet, with a diameter
of 66 feet, and the capacity was Ij million
cubic feet.

In shape the hull was similar to the later
types of Zeppelin, having a rounded bow and
a long tapering stern. The longitudinal and
transverse frames were composed of girders
built up of three-ply wood, the whole structure
being braced in the usual manner with wire
bracings. It had been found in practice with
rigid airships that, if for any reason one
gasbag becomes much less inflated than those
adjacent to it, there is considerable pressure,
having the effect of forcing the radial wires
of the transverse frames towards the empty
bag. The tension resulting in these wires may
produce very serious compressive strain in
the members of the transverse frames, and to
counteract this action an axial wire is led
along the axis of the ship and secured to the

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 173

centre point of the radial wiring. This
method, now current practice in rigid airship
construction, was introduced for the first time
in this ship.

As will be seen from the photograph, the
control and navigating compartment of the
ship is contained in the hull, the cars in
each case being merely small engine rooms.
These small cars were beautifully made of
wood of a shape to afford the least resistance
to the air, and in number were five, each
housing a single 250 horse-power Rolls Royce
engine driving a single fixed propeller. Here
we see another decided departure from our
previous methods of rigid airship construc-
tion, in that for the first time swivelling pro-
pellers were abandoned. R31 when completed
carried out her trials, and it was evident that
she was much faster than previous ships. The
trials were on the whole satisfactory and, ex-
cept for a few minor accidents to the hull frame-
work and fins, nothing untoward occurred.

At a later date the whole ship was through
fortuitous circumstances exposed to certain
disadvantageous conditions which rendered
her incapable of further use.

174 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

R 33 Class

September 24th, 1916, is one of the most
important days in the history of rigid air-
ship design in this country ; on this date the
German Zeppehn airship L 33 was damaged
by gunfire over London, and being hit in the
after gasbags attempted to return to Ger-
many. Owing to lack of buoyancy she was
forced to land at Little Wigborough, in
Essex, where the crew, having set fire to the
ship, gave themselves up. Although prac-
tically the entire fabric of the ship was
destroyed, the hull structure most fortunately
remained to all intents and purposes intact,
and was of inestimable value to the design
staff of the Admiralty, who measured up the
whole ship and made working drawings of
every part available.

During this year other German rigid
airships had been brought down, namely
L 15, which was destroyed at the mouth of
the Thames in April, but which was of an old
type, and from which little useful informa-
tion was obtained ; and also the Army
airship L.Z. 85, which was destroyed at

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 175

Salonica in the month of May. A Schutte-
Lanz airship was also brought down at
Cuffley, on September 2nd, and afforded
certain valuable details.

All these ships were, however, becoming
out of date ; but L 33 was of the latest
design, familiarly called the super-Zeppelin,
and had only been completed about six weeks
before she encountered disaster.

In view of the fact that the rigid airships
building in this country at this date, with the
exception of the wooden Schutte-Lanz ships,
were all based on pre-war designs of Zeppehn
airships, it can be readily understood that
this latest capture revolutionized all previous
ideas, and to a greater extent than might be
imagined, owing to the immense advance,
both in design and construction, which had
taken place in Germany since 1914.

All possible information having been ob-
tained, both from the wiTck of the airship
itself and from interrogation of the captured
crew, approval was obtained, in November
of the same year, for two ships of the L 33
design^to be built ; and in January, 1917,
this number was increased to five.

176 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

It was intended originally that these ships
should be an exact facsimile of L 33 ; but
owing to the length of time occupied in
construction later information was obtained
before they were completed, both from ships
of a more modern design, which were subse-
quently brought down, and also from other
sources. Acting on this information, various
improvements were embodied in R 33 and
R 34, which were in a more advanced state ;
but in the case of the three other ships the
size was increased, and the ships, when com-
pleted, will bear resemblance to a later type
altogether.

As a comment on the slowness of construc-
tion before mentioned, the fact that while we
in this country were building two ships on
two shps, Germany had constructed no fewer
than thirty on four sHps, certainty affords
considerable food for reflection.

The two airships of this class having only
just reached a state of completion, a detailed
description cannot be given without making
public much information which must neces-
sarily remain secret for the present. Various
descriptions have, however, been given in

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 177

the daily and weekly Press, but it is not
intended in the present edition of this book
to attempt to elaborate on anything which
has not been already revealed through these
channels.

It is regrettable that so much that would
be of the utmost interest has to be omitted ;
but the particulars which follow will at any
rate give some idea of the magnitude of the
ship and show that it marks a decided
departure from previous experiments and a
great advance on any airship before con-
structed in Great Britain.

It is also a matter for regret that these two
ships were not completed before the termina-
tion of hostilities, as their capabilities would
appear to be sufficient to warrant the ex-
pectations which have been based on their
practical utility as scouting agents for the
Grand Fleet.

In all its main features the hull structure
of R 33 and R 34 follows the design of the
wrecked German Zeppelin airship L 33. The
hull follows more nearly a true streamline
shape than in the previous ships constructed
of duralumin, in which a great proportion

178 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

of the total length was parallel-sided. The
Germans adopted this new shape from the
Schutte-Lanz design and have not departed
from this practice. This consists of a short
parallel body with a long rounded bow and
a long tapering stem culminating in a point.
The overall length of the ship is 643 feet with
a diameter of 79 feet and an extreme height
of 92 feet.

The type of girders in this class has been
much altered from those in previous ships.
The hull is fitted with an internal triangular
keel throughout practically the entire length.
This forms the main corridor of the ship, and
is fitted with a footway down the centre for
its entire length. It contains water ballast
and petrol tanks, bomb stowage and crew
accommodation and the various control
wires, petrol pipes and electric leads are
carried along the lower part.

Throughout this internal corridor runs a
bridge girder, from which the petrol and
water ballast tanks are supported. These
tanks are so arranged that they can be
dropped clear of the ship. Amidships is the
cabin space with sufficient room for a crew

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 179

of twenty- five. Hammocks can be slung
from the bridge girder before mentioned.

In accordance with the latest Zeppelin
practice, monoplane rudders and elevators
are fitted to the horizontal and vertical fins.

The ship is supported in the air by nineteen
gasbags which give a total capacity of ap-
proximately two million cubic feet of gas. The
gross lift works out at approximately 59 1
tons, of which the total fixed weight is 33
tons, giving a disposable lift of 26i tons.

The arrangement of cars is as follows : At
the forward end the control car is slung, which
contains all navigating instruments and the
various controls. Adjoining this is the wire-
less cabin, which is also fitted for wireless
telephony. -Immediately aft of this is the
forward power car containing one engine,
which gives the appearance that the whole
is one large car.

Amidships are two wing cars each con-
taining a single engine. These are small and
just accommodate the engine with sufficient
room for mechanics to attend to them. Fur-
ther aft is another larger car which contains
an auxiliary control position and two engines.

180 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

It will thus be seen that five engines are
installed in the ship ; these are all of the
same type and horse-power, namely, 250
horse-power Sunbeam. R 83 was constructed
by Messrs. Armstrong Whit worth Ltd.,
while her sister ship R 34 was built by Messrs.
Beardmore on the Clyde,

In the spring of 1918, R 33 and R 34 carried
out several flight trials, and though various
difficulties were encountered both with the
engines and also with the elevator and rudder
controls, it was evident that, with these de-
fects remedied, each of these ships would
prove to be singularly reliable.

On one of these trials made by R 34, ex-
ceedingly bad weather was encountered, and
the airship passed through several bhnding
snowstorms ; nevertheless the proposed flight
of some seventeen hours was completed, and
though at times progress was practically nil
owing to the extreme force of the wind, the
station was reached in safety and the ship
landed without any contretemps. This trial
run having been accomiDlished in weather
such as would never have been chosen in the
earlier days of rigid trial flights, those con-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 181

nected with the airship felt that their con-
fidence in the vessel's capabilities was by no
means exaggerated.

The lift of the ship warranted a greater
supply of petrol being carried than there was
accommodation for, and the engines by now
had been " tuned up " to a high standard of
efficiency. Accordingly it was considered
that the ship possessed the necessary qualifi-
cations for a transatlantic flight. It was,
moreover, the opinion of the leading officers
of the airship service that such an enterprise
would be of inestimable value to the airship
itself, as demonstrating its utility in the
future for commercial purposes.

Efforts were made to obtain permission
for the flight to be attempted, and although
at first the naval authorities were disinclined
to risk such a valuable ship on what appeared
to be an adventure of doubtful outcome,
eventually all opposition was overcome and
it was agreed that for the purposes of this
voyage the ship was to be taken over by the
Air Ministry from the Admiralty.

Work was started immediately to fit out
the ship for a journey of this description.

182 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

Extra petrol tanks were disposed in the hull
structure to enable a greater supply of fuel
to be carried, a new and improved type of
outer cover was fitted, and by May 29th, R 34
was completed to the satisfaction of the
Admiralty and was accepted. On the even-
ing of the same day she left for her station,
East Fortune, on the Firth of Forth. This
short passage from the Clyde to the Forth
was not devoid of incident, as soon after
leaving the ground a low-tying fog enveloped
the whole country and it was found im-
possible to land with any degree of safety.
It having been resolved not to land until the
fog lifted, the airship cruised about the north-
east coast of England and even came as far
south as York. Returning to Scotland, she
found the fog had cleared, and was landed
safely, having been in the air for 21 hours.

The original intention was that the Atlantic
flight should be made at the beginning of
June, but the apparent unwillingness of the
Germans to sign the Peace Treaty caused the
Admiralty to retain the ship for a time and
commission her on a war footing. During
this period she went for an extended cruise

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 183

over Denmark, along the north coast of
Germany and over the Baltic. This flight
was accomplished in 56 hours, during which
extremely bad weather conditions were ex-
perienced at times. On its conclusion the
captain and crew of the ship expressed their
opinion that the crossing of the Atlantic was
with ordinary luck a moral certainty. Peace
having been signed, the ship was overhauled
once more and made ready for the flight, and
tl% day selected some three weeks before
was July 2nd.

A selected party of air-service ratings,
together with two officers, were sent over to
America to make all the necessary arrange-
ments, and the American authorities afforded
every conceivable facility to render the flight
successful.

As there is no shed in America capable of
housing a big rigid, there was no alternative
but to moor her out in the open, replenish
supplies of gas and fuel and make the return
journey as quickly as possible.

On July 2nd, at 2.38 a.m. (British summer
time), R 34 left the ground at East Fortune,
carrying a total number of 30 persons. The

184 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

route followed was a somewhat northerly one,
the north coast of Ireland being skirted and
a more or less direct course was kept to New-
foundland. From thence the south-east
coast of Nova Scotia was followed and the
mainland was picked up near Cape Cod.
From Cape Cod the airship proceeded to
Mineola, the landing place on Long Island.
All went well until Newfoundland was reached.
Over this island fog was encountered, and
later electrical storms became a disturbing
element when over Nova Scotia and the Bay
of Fundy. The course had to be altered to
avoid these storms, and owing to this the
petrol began to run short. No anxiety was
occasioned until on Saturday, July 5th, a
wireless signal was sent at 3.59 p.m. asking
for assistance, and destroyers were dispatched
immediately to the scene. Later messages
were received indicating that the position
was very acute, as head winds were being
encountered and petrol was running short.
The airship, however, struggled on, and though
at one time the possibility of landing at
Montauk, at the northern end of Long Island,
was considered, she managed after a night

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 185

of considerable anxiety to reach Mineola and
land there in safety on July 6th at 9.55 a.m.
(British summer time). The total duration
of the outward voyage was 108 hours 12
minutes, and during this time some 3,130
sea miles were covered. R 34 remained at
Mineola until midnight of July 9th according
to American time. During the four days in
which she was moored out variable weather
was experienced, and in a gale of wind the
mooring point was torn out, but fortunately,
another trail rope was dropped and made fast,
and the airship did not break away.

It was intended that the return should be
delayed until daylight, in order that spectators
in New York should obtain a good view of
the airship, but an approaching storm was
reported and the preparations were advanced
for her immediate departure. During the
last half-hour great difficulty was experienced
in holding the ship while gassing was com-
pleted.

At 5.57 a.m. (British summer time) R 34
set out on her return voyage, steering for
New York, to fly over the city before heading
out into the Atlantic. She was picked up

186 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

by the searchlights and was distinctly visible
to an enormous concourse of spectators.
During the early part of the flight a strong
following wind was of great assistance, and
for a short period an air speed of 83 miles per
hour was attained. On the morning of July
11th the foremost of the two engines in the
after car broke down and was found to be
beyond repair. The remainder of the voyage
was accomplished without further incident.
On July 12th at noon, a signal was sent telling
R 34 to proceed to the airship station at
Pulham in Norfolk as the weather was un-
favourable for landing in Scotland. On the
same day at 8.25 p.m., land was first sighted
and the coast line was crossed near Clifden,
county Gal way, at 9 p.m. On the following
morning, July 13th, at 7.57 a.m. (British
summer time), the long voyage was com-
pleted and R 34 was safely housed in the
shed, having been in the air 75 hours 3
minutes.

Thus a most remarkable undertaking was
brought to a successful conclusion. The
weather experienced was by no means ab-
normally good. This was not an opportunity

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 187

waited for for weeks and then hurriedly
snatched, but on the preordained date the
flight was commenced. The airship en-
thusiast had always declared that the crossing
of the Atlantic presented no insuperable
difficulty, and when the moment arrived the
sceptics found that he was correct. We may
therefore assume that this flight is a very
important landmark in the history of aerial
transport, and has demonstrated that the
airship is to be the medium for long-distance
travel. VV'e may rest assured that such
flights, although creating universal wonder
to-day, will of a surety be accepted as every-
day occurrences before the world is many
years older.

CHAPTER VIII

The Work of the Airship in the World War

The outbreak of war found us, as we have
seen, practically without airships of any
military value. jFor this unfortunate cir-
cumstance there were many contributory
causes. The development of aeronautics
generally in this country was behind that of
the Continent, and the airship had suffered
to a greater extent than either the seaplane
or the aeroplane. !Our attitude in fact to-
wards the air had not altered so very greatly
from that of the man who remarked, on
reading in his paper that some pioneer of
aviation had met with destruction, " If we
had been meant to fly, God would have given
us wings." Absurd as this sounds nowadays,
it was the opinion of most people in this
country, with the exception of a few enthusi-
asts, until only a few years before we were
plunged into war.

i88

BRITISH AIRSHIPS 189

The year 1909 saw the vindication of the
enthusiasts, for in this summer Bleriot
crossed the Channel in an aeroplane, and the
first passenger-carrying Zeppelin airship was
completed. Those who had previously scoffed
came to the conclusion that flying was not
only possible but an accomplished fact, and
the next two years with their great aerial
cross-country circuits revealed the vast poten-
tialities of aircraft in assisting in military
operations. We, therefore, began to study
aeronautics as the science of the future, and
aircraft as an adjunct to the sea and land
forces of the empire.

The airship, unfortunately, suffered for
many reasons from the lack of encouragement
afforded generally to the development of
aeronautics. The airship undoubtedly 3 is
expensive, and one airship of size costs more
to build than many aeroplanes. In addition,
everything connected with the airship is a
source of considerable outlay. The shed to
house an airship is a most costly undertaking,
and takes time and an expenditure of material
to erect, and bears no comparison with the
cheap hangar which can be run up in a

190 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

moment to accommodate the aeroplane. The
gas to Hft the airship is by no means a cheap
commodity. If it is to be made on the
station where the airship is based, it necessi-
tates the provision of an expensive and
elaborate plant. If, on the other hand, it is
to be manufactured at a factory, the question
of transport comes in, which is a further
source of expense with costly hydrogen tubes
for its conveyance.

Another drawback is the large tract of
ground required for an aerodrome, and the
big airship needs a large number of highly-
trained personnel to handle it.

A further point always raised when the
policy of developing the airship was mooted
is its vulnerability. It cannot be denied that
it presents a large target to artillery or to the
aeroplane attacking it, and owing to the
highly inflammable nature of hydrogen when
mixed with air there can be no escape if
the gas containers are pierced by incendiary
bullets or shells.

Another contributing factor to the slow
development of the airship was the lack of
private enterprise. Rivalry existed between

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 191

private firms for aeroplane contracts which
consequently produced improvements in
design ; airships could not be produced in
this way owing to the high initial cost, and
if the resulting ships ended in failure, as many
were bound to do, there would be no return
for a large outlay of capital. The only way
by which private firms could be encom-aged
to embark on airship building was by sub-
sidies from the Government, and at this time
the prevalent idea of the doubtful value of
the airship was too strong for money to be
voted for this purpose.

To strengthen this argument no demand
had either been made from those in command
of the Fleet or from commanders of our
Armies for airships to act as auxiliaries to our
forces.

The disasters experienced by all early
airships and most particularly by the Zeppe-
lins were always seized upon by those who
desired to convince the country w hat unstable
craft they were, and however safe in the air
they might be were always liable to be
wrecked when landing in an\i:hing but fine
weather. Those w^ho might have sunk their

192 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

money in airship building thereupon patted
themselves upon the back and rejoiced that
they had been so far-seeing as to avoid
being engaged upon such a profitless in-
dustry.

Finally, all in authority were agreed to
adopt the policy of letting other countries
buy their experience and to profit from it at
a later date. Had the war been postponed
for another twenty years all might have been
well, and we should have reaped the benefit,
but most calamitously for ourselves it
arrived when we were utterly unprepared,
and having, as we repeat, only three airships
of any military value.

With the'se three ships, Astra- Torres (No.
3), Parseval (No. 4) and Beta, the Navy did
all that was possible. At the very outbreak
of war scouting trips were made out into the
North Sea beyond the mouth of the Thames
by the Astra and Parseval, and both these
ships patrolled the Channel during the passage
of the Expeditionary Force.
^ The J; Astra was also employed off the
Belgian coast to assist the naval landing
party at Ostend, and together with the

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 193

Parseval assisted in patrolling the Channel
during the first winter of the war.

The Beta was also sent over to Dunkirk to
assist in spotting for artillery fire and locat-
ing German batteries on the Belgian coast.
Our airships were also employed for aerial
inspection of London and other large towns
by night to examine the effects of fighting
restrictions and obtain information for our
anti-aircraft batteries.

With the single exception of the S.S. ship,
which carried out certain manoeuvres in
France in the summer of 1916, our airships
were confined to operations over the sea ; but
if we had possessed ships of greater reliability
in the early days of the war, it is conceivable
that they would have been of value for certain
purposes to the Army. The Germans em-
ployed their Zeppelins at the bombardment
of Antwerp, Warsaw, Nancy and Libau, and
their raids on England are too well remem-
bered to need description. The French also
used airships for the observation of troops
mobilizing and for the destruction of railway
depots. The Itafians relied entirely at the
beginning of the war on airships, constructed

194 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

to fly at great heights, for the bombing of
Austrian troops and territory, and met with
a considerable measure of success.

When it was decided, early in 1915, to
develop the airship for anti-submarine work,
difficulties which appeared almost insuperable
were encountered at first. To begin with,
there were practically no firms in the country
capable of airship production. The con-
struction of envelopes was a great problem ;
as rubber-proofed fabric had been found by
experiment to yield the best results for the
holding of gas, various waterproofing firms
were invited to make envelopes, and by
whole-hearted efforts and untiring industry
they at last provided very excellent samples.
Fins, rudder planes, and cars were also
entrusted to firms which had had no previous
experience of this class of work, and it is
rather curious to reflect that envelopes were
produced by the makers of mackintoshes
and that cars and planes were constructed
by a shop-window furnisher. This was a sure
sign that all classes of the community were
pulling together for the good of the common
cause.

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 195

Among other difficulties was the shortage
of hydrogen tubes, plants, and the silicol for
making gas.

Sufficient sheds and aerodromes were also
lacking, and the airships themselves were
completed more quickly than the sheds
which were to house them.

The lack of airship personnel to meet the
expansion of the service presented a further
obstacle. To overcome this the system of
direct entry into the R.N.A.S. was instituted,
which enabled pilots to be enrolled from civil
life in addition to the midshipmen who were
drafted from the Fleet. The majority of
the ratings were recruited from civil life and
given instruction in rigging and aero-engines
as quickly as possible, while technical officers
were nearly all civilians and granted com-
missions in the R.N.Y.R.

A tremendous drawback was the absence
of rigid airships and the lack of duralumin
with wliich to construct them.

Few men were also experienced in airship
work at this time, and there was no central
airship training establishment as was after-
wards instituted. Pilots were instructed as

196 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

occasion permitted at the various patrol
stations, having passed a balloon course and
undergone a rudimentary training at various
places.

To conclude, the greatest of all difficulties
was the shortage of money voted for airship
development, and this was a disadvantage
under which airships laboured even until the
conclusion of hostilities.

We have seen previously how the other
difficulties were surmounted and how our
airships were evolved, type by type, and the
measure of success which attended theni. It
is interesting to recall that five years ago we
only possessed three ships capable of flying,
and that during the war we built upwards of
two hundred, of which no fewer than 103
were actually in commission on the date of
the signing of the Armistice.

The work carried out by our airships during
the war falls under three main headings :

1. Operations with the fleet or with
various units.

2. Anti-submarine patrol and searching
for mines.

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 197

3. Escort of shipping and examina-
tion duties.

With regard to the first heading it is only
permissible at present to say very little ;
certain manoeuvres were carried out in con-
nection with the fleet, but the slow develop-
ment of our rigid airships prohibited anything
on a large scale being attempted. The Ger-
mans, on the other hand, made the fullest
use of their Zeppelins for scouting purposes
with the high seas fleet. Responsible people
were guilty of a grave mistake when speaking
in public in denouncing the Zeppelin as a
useless monster every time one was destroyed
in a raid on this country. The main function
of the Zeppelin airship was to act as an aerial
scout, and it carried out these duties with
the utmost efficiency during the war. It is
acknowledged that the German fleet owed
its escape after the Battle of Jutland to the
information received from their airships,
while again the Zeppelin was instrumental
in effecting the escape of the flotilla which
bombarded Scarborough in 1916.

Very probably, also, the large airship^ was
responsible for the success which attended

198 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

the U boats during their attack on the
cruisers Nottingham and Falmouth, and also
at the Hogue disaster.

Various experiments were carried out in
towing airships by cruisers, in refuelling
while in tow and changing crews, all of which
would have borne good fruit had the war
lasted longer.

An exceedingly interesting experiment was
carried out during the closing stages of the
war by an airship of the S.S. Zero type. At
this period the German submarines were
gradually extending their operations at a
greater distance from our coasts, and the
authorities became concerned at the prospect
that the small type of airship would not
possess sufficient endurance to carry out
patrol over these increased distances. The
possibility was considered of carrying a small
airship on board a ship which should carry
out patrol and return to the ship for refuelling
purposes, to replenish gas, and change her
crew. To test the feasibility of this idea
S.S. Z 57 carried out landing experiments
on the deck of H.M.S. Furious, which had
been adapted as an aeroplane carrier. S.S.

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 199

Z 57 came over the deck and dropped her
trail rope, which was passed through a block
secured to the deck, and was hauled down
without difficulty. These experiments were
continued while the ship was under weigh
and were highly successful. No great diffi-
culty was encountered in making fast the
trail rope, and the airship proved quite easy
to handle. The car was also lowered into
the hangar below the upper deck, the envelope
only remaining on the upper level, and every-
thing worked smoothly. If the war had con-
tinued there is no doubt that some attempt
would have been made to test the practical
efficiency of the problem.

Anti-submarine patrol was the chief work
of the airship during the war, and, like every-
thing else, underwent most striking changes.
Submarine hunting probably had more clever
brains concentrated upon it than anything
else in the war, and the part allotted to the
airship in conjunction with the hunting
flotillas of surface craft was carefully thought
out.

In the case of a suspected submarine in a
certain spot, all surface and air craft were

200 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

concentrated by means of wireless signals at
the appointed rendezvous. It is in opera-
tions of this kind that the airship is so
superior to the seaplane or aeroplane, as she
can hover over a fixed point for an indefinite
period with engines shut off. If the sub-
marine was located from the air, signals were
given and depth charges dropped in the
position pointed out. Incidents of this kind
were of frequent occurrence, and in them the
value of the airship was fully recognized.

The most monotonous and arduous of the
airship's duties was the routine patrol. The
ship would leave her shed before dawn and
be at the appointed place many miles away
from land. She then would carry out patrol,
closely scanning the sea all round, and in-
vestigating any suspicious object. For hours
this might last with nothing seen, and then
in the gathering darkness the ship would
make her way home often against a rising
wind, and in the winter through hail and
snow. Bombs were always carried, and on
many occasions direct hits w^re observed on
enemy submarines. A sharp look-out was
always kept for mines, and many were

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 201

destroyed, either by gunfire from the airship
herself or through the agency of patrol boats
in the vicinity. This was the chief work of
the S.S. ships, and was brought to a high
pitch of perfection by the S.S. Zero. These
ships proved so handy that they could circle
round an object without ever losing sight of
it, and yet could be taken in and out of sheds
in weather too bad to handle bigger ships.

The hunting of the submarine has been
likened to big-game hunting, and certainly
no one ever set out to destroy a bigger quarry.
It needs the same amount of patience and the
same vigilance. Days may pass without the
opportunity, and that will only be a fleeting
one : the psychological moment must be seized
and it will not brook a moment's delay. The
eye must be trained to pick up the minutest
detail, and must be capable of doing this for
hour after hour. For those on submarine
patrol in a small ship there is not one second's
rest. As is well known, the submarine cam-
paign reached its climax in April, 1917. In
that month British and Allied shipping sus-
tained its greatest losses. The value of the
airship in combating this menace w^as now

202 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

fully recognized, and with the big building
programme of Zero airships approved, the
housing accommodation again reached an
acute stage. Shortage of steel and timber
for shed building, and the lack of labour to
erect these materials had they been available,
rendered other methods necessary. It was
resolved to try the experiment of mooring
airships in clearings cut into belts of trees or
small woods.

A suitable site was selected and the trees
were felled by service labour. The ships were
then taken into the gaps thus formed and
were moored by steel wires to the adjacent
trees. Screens of brushwood were then built
up between the trees, and the whole scheme
proved so successful that even in winter,
when the trees were stripped of their foliage,
airships rode out gales of over 60 miles per
hour. The personnel were housed either in
tents or billeted in cottages or houses in the
neighbourhood, and gas was supplied in tubes
as in the earlier days of the stations before
the gas plants had been erected.

This method having succeeded beyond the
most sanguine expectations, every station had

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 203

one or more of these sub-stations based on
it, the airships allocated to them making a
periodical visit to the parent station for
overhaul as required. Engineering repairs
were effected by workshop lorries, provided
that extensive work was not required.

In this way a large fleet of small airships
was maintained around our coasts, leaving
the bigger types of ships on the parent
stations, and the operations were enabled to
be considerably extended. Of covirse, certain
ships were wrecked when gales of unpre-
cedented violence sprung up ; but the output
of envelopes, planes and cars was by this
time so good that a ship could be replaced
at a few hours' notice, and the cost compared
with building of additional sheds was so small
as to be negligible.

From the month of April, 1917, the convoy
system was introduced, by which all ships
on entering the danger zones were collected
at an appointed rendezvous and escorted by
destroyers and patrol boats. The airship
was singularly suitable to assist in these
duties. Owing to her power of reducing
her speed to whatever was required, she

204 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

could keep her station ahead or abeam of the
convoy as was necessary, and from her
altitude was able to exercise an outlook for
a far greater distance than was possible from
the bridge of a destroyer. She could also
sweep the surface ahead of the approach-
ing convoy, and warn it by wireless or by
flash-lamp of the presence of submarines
or mines. By these timely warnings many
vessels were saved. Owing to the posi-
tion of the stations it was possible for a
convoy to be met by airships west of the
Scilly Isles and escorted by the airships of
the succeeding stations right up the Channel.
In a similar manner, the main shipping routes
on the east coast and also in the Irish Sea
were under constant observation. The mail
steamers between England and Ireland and
transports between England and France
were always escorted whenever flying con-
ditions were possible. For escort duties
involving long hours of flying, the Coastal
and C Star types were peculiarly suitable,
and at a later date the North Sea, which
could accompany a convoy for the length of
Scotland. Airships have often proved of

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 205

value in summoning help to torpedoed
vessels, and on occasions survivors in open
boats have been rescued through the agency
of patrolling airships. Examination duties
are reckoned among the many obligations of
the airship. Suspicious-looking vessels were
always carefully scrutinized, and if unable to
give a satisfactory answer to signals made,
were reported to vessels of the auxiliary
patrol for closer examination. Isolated
fishing vessels always were kept under close
observation, for one of the many ruses of
the submarine was to adopt the disguise of
a harmless fishing boat with masts and sails.

The large transports, conveying American
troops who passed through England on their
way to France, were always provided with
escorting airships whenever possible, and
their officers have extolled their merits in
most laudatory terms.

Our rigid airships also contributed their
share in convoy work, although their appear-
ance as active units was delayed owing to
slowness in construction.

A disturbing feature to the advocate of the
large airship, has been the destruction of

206 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

raiding Zeppelins by heavier-than-air mach-
ines, and the Jeremiahs have not lost this
opportunity of declaring that for war purposes
the huge rigid is now useless and will always
be at the complete mercy of the fast scouting
aeroplane. There is never any obstacle in
this world that cannot be surmounted by
some means or other. On the one hand
there is helium, a non-inflammable gas which
would render airships almost immune to such
attacks. On the other hand, one opinion of
thought is that the rigid airship in the future
will proceed to sea escorted by a squadron of
scouting aeroplanes for its defence, in the
same way that the capital ship is escorted at
sea by destroyers and torpedo boats. This
latter idea has been even further developed
by those who look into the future, and have
conceived the possibility of a gigantic airship
carrying its own aeroplanes for its protection.
To test the possibility of this innovation, a
small aeroplane was attached to one of our
rigid airships beneath the keel. Attach-
ments were made to the top of the wings and
were carried to the main framework of the
hull. The release gear was tested on the

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 207

ground to preclude the possibility of any
accident, and on the day appointed the air-
ship was got ready for flight. While the
airship was flying, the pilot of the aeroplane
was in his position with his engine just ticking
over. The bows of the airship were then
inchned upwards and the release gear was
put into operation. The pilot afterwards
said that he had no notion that anything had
been done until he noticed that the airship
was some considerable height above him.
The machine made a circuit of the aerodrome
and landed in perfect safety, while no trouble
was experienced in any way in the airship.

WHiether this satisfactory experiment will
have any practical outcome the future alone
can say, but this achievement would have
been considered beyond all the possibilities
of attainment only a few years ago.

Since the Armistice several notable endur-
ance flights were accomplished by ships of
the North Sea class, several voyages being
made to the coast of Norway, and quite
recently a trip was carried out all round the
North Sea.

The weather has ceased to be the deterrent

208 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

of the early days. Many will no doubt remem-
ber seeing the North Sea airship over London
on a day of squalls and snow showers, and
R 34 encountered heavy snow storms on the
occasion of one of her flight trials, which goes
to prove that the airship is scarcely the fair-
weather aircraft as maintained by her oppo-
nents.

Throughout the war our airships flew for
approximately 89,000 hours and covered a dis-
tance of upwards of two and a quarter million
miles. The Germans attempted to win the
war by the wholesale sinking of our merchant
shipping, bringing supplies and food to these
islands, and by torpedoing our transports and
ships carrying guns and munitions of war.
They were, perhaps, nearer to success than
we thought at the time, but we were saved
by the defeat of the submarine. In the vic-
tory won over the underseas craft the airship
certainly played a prominent part and we,
who never suffered the pinch of hunger,
should gratefully remember those who never
lost heart, but in spite of all difficulties and
discouragement, designed, built, maintained
and flew our fleet of airships.

CHAPTER IX

The Future of Airships

With the signing of the Armistice on
November 11th, 1918, the airship's work in
the war was practically completed and peace
reigned on the stations which for so many
months had been centres of feverish activity.
The enemy submarines were withdrawn from
our shipping routes and merchant ships
could traverse the sea in safety except for
the occasional danger of drifting mines.
" What is to be the future of the airship ? "
is the question which is agitating the minds
of innumerable people at the present moment.
During the war we have built the largest
fleet of airships in the world, in non-rigids
we have reached a stage in design which is
unsurpassed by any country, and in rigid
airships we are second only to the Germans,
who have declared that, with the signing of
the peace terms, their aircraft industry will

209

210 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

be destroyed. Such is our position at the
present moment, a position almost incredible
if we look back to the closing days of the
year 1914. Are we now to allow ourselves
to drift gradually back to our old policy of
supineness and negligence as existed before
the war ? Surely such a thought is incon-
ceivable ; as we have organized our airship
production for the purposes of war, so shall
we have to redouble our efforts for its
development in peace, if we intend to main-
tain our supremacy in the air.

Unless all war is from henceforth to cease,
a most improbable supposition when the
violence of human nature is considered, air-
craft will be in the future almost the most
important arm. Owing to its speed, there
will not be that period of waiting for the j
concentration and marching of the armies of
the past, but the nation resolved on war will
be able to strike its blow, and that a very
powerful and terrible one, within a few hours
of the rupture of negotiations. Every nation
to be prepared to counter such a blow must
be possessed of adequate resources, and un-
less the enormous expense is incurred of main-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 211

taining in peace a huge establishment of air-
craft and personnel, other methods must be
adopted of possessing both of these available
for war while employed in peace for other
purposes.

From the war two new methods of trans-
portation have emerged — the aeroplane and
the airship. To the business man neither of
these is at the present juncture likely to
commend itself on the basis of cost per ton
mile. When, however, it is considered that
the aeroplane is faster than the express train
and the airship's speed is double that of the
fastest merchant ship, it will be appreciated
that for certain commercial purposes both
these mediums for transport have their
possibilities. The future may prove that in
the time to come both the airship and the
aeroplane will become self-supporting, but
for the present, if assisted by the Government,
a fair return may be given for the capital laid
out, and a large fleet of aircraft together with
the necessary personnel will always be avail-
able for military purposes should the emer-
gency arise. The present war has shown
that the merchant service provided a valu-

212 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

able addition both of highly-trained personnel
and of vessels readily adapted for war pur-
poses, and it appears that a similar organiza-
tion can be effected to reinforce our aerial
navies in future times of danger.

In discussions relative to the commercial
possibilities of aircraft, a heated controversy
always rages between advocates of the air-
ship and those of the heavier-than-air
machine, but into this it is not proposed to
plunge the reader of this volume. The
aeroplane is eminently adapted for certain
purposes, and the greatest bigot in favour of
the airship can hardly dispute the claims of
this machine to remain predominant for
short- distance travel, where liigh speed is
essential and the load to be carried is light.
For long distance voyages over the oceans or
broken or unpopulated country, where large
loads are to be carried, the airship should be
found to be the more suitable.

The demand for airships for commercial
pm-poses falls under three main headings,
which will be considered in some detail. It
will be shown to what extent the present
types will fill this demand, and how they can

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 213

be developed in the future to render the pro-
posed undertakings successful.

1. Pleasure.

2. A quick and safe means of transport
for passengers.

3. A quick commercial service for de-
livering goods of reasonable weight
from one country to another.

1. Pleasure. — In the past, men have kept
mechanically-driven means of transport such
as yachts, motor cars, and motor boats for
their amusement, and to a limited extent
have taken recreation in the air by means of
balloons. For short cruises about this
country and round the coast a small airship,
somewhat similar to the S.S. Zero, would be
an ideal craft. In cost it would be consider-
ably less than a small yacht, and as it would
only be required in the summer months, it
would be inflated and moored out in the open
in a park or grounds and the expense of
providing a shed need not be incurred. For
longer distances, a ship of 150,000 cubic feet
capacity, with a covered-in car and driven by
two engines, would have an endurance of 25

214 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

hours at a cruising speed of 45 miles per
hour. With such a ship voyages could easily
be made from the south coast to the Riviera
or Spain, and mooring out would still be
possible under the lee of a small wood or to a
buoy on the water.

Possibilities also exist for an enterprising
firm to start a series of short pleasure trips
at various fashionable seaside resorts, and
until the novelty had worn off the demand
for such excursions will probably be far in
excess of the supply.

2. Passenger transport, — In the re-organi-
zation of the world after this devastating war
the business man's time will be of even more
value than it was before. This country is
largely bound up with the United States of
America in business interests which necessi-
tate continual visits between the two coun-
tries. The time occupied by steamer in com-
pleting this journey is at present about five
days. If tliis time can be cut do^\Ti to two
and a half days, no doubt a large number of
passengers will be only too anxious to avail
themselves of this means of travel, providing
that it will be accomplished in reasonable

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 215

safety and comfort. The requirements for
this purpose are an aerial hner capable of
carrying a hundred passengers with a certain
quantity of luggage and sufficient provisions
for a voyage which may be extended over
the specified time owing to weather con-
ditions. The transatlantic service if suc-
cessful could then be extended until regular
passenger routes are estabhshed encirchng
the globe.

3. Quick commercial service for certain types
of goods. — Certain mails and parcels are
largely enhanced in value by the rapidity of
transport, and here, as in the passenger
service outlined above, the airsliip offers
undoubted facilities. As we have said before,
it is mainly over long distances that the air-
ship will score, and for long distances on the
amount carried the success of the enterprise
will be secured. For this purpose the rigid
airship will be essential. There are certain in-
stances in which the non-rigid may possibly be
profitably utilized, and one such is suggested
by a mail service between this countr}^ and
Scandinavia. A service is feasible betw^een
Newcastle and Norway by airships of a

216 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

capacity of the S.S. Twin type. These ships
would carry 700 lb. of mails each trip at about
4d. per ounce, which would reduce the time
of delivering letters from about two and a
half to three days to twenty-four hours.

A commercial airship company is regarded
in this country as a new and highly hazardous
undertaking, and it seems to be somewhat
overlooked that it is not quite the novel idea
so many people imagine. Before the war,
in the years 1910 to 1914, the Deutsche
Luftfahrt Actien Gesellschaft successfully
ran a commercial Zeppelin service in which
four airships were used, namely, Schwaben,
Victoria Luise, Hansa and Sachsan. During
this period over 17,000 passengers were
carried a total distance of over 100,000
miles without incurring a single fatal accident.
Numerous English people made trips in these
airships, including Viscount Jellicoe, but the
success of the company has apparently been
forgotten.

We have endeavoured to show that the
non-rigid airship has potentialities even for
commercial purposes, but there is no doubt
whatever that the future of the airship in the

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 217

commercial world rests entirely with the
rigid type, and the airships of this type more-
over must be of infinitely greater capacity
than those at present in existence, if a return
is to be expected for the capital invested in
them. General Sykes stated, in the paper
which he read before the London Chamber
of Commerce, "that for commercial purposes
the airship is eminently adapted for long-
distance journeys involving non-stop flights.
It has this inherent advantage over the
aeroplane, that while there appears to be a
limit to the range of the aeroplane as at
present constructed, there is practically no
limit whatever to that of the airship, as this
can be overcome by merely increasing the
size. It thus appears that for such journeys
as crossing the Atlantic, or crossing the
Pacific from the west coast of America to
Australia or Japan, the airship will be
peculiarly suitable."

He also remarked that, " it having been
conceded that the scope of the airship is long-
distance travel, the only type which need be
considered for this purpose is the rigid. The
rigid airship is still in an embryonic state,

218 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

but sufficient has already been accomplished
in this country, and more particularly in
Germany, to show that with increased
capacity there is no reason why, within a few
years' time, airships should not be built
capable of completing the circuit of the
globe and of conveying sufficient passengers
and merchandise to render such an under-
taking a paying proposition."

The report of the Civil Aerial Transport
Committee also states that, " airships are
the most suitable aircraft for the carrying
of passengers where safety, comfort and
reliability are essential."

VMien we consider the rapid development
of the rigid airship since 1914, it should not
be insuperable to construct an airship with
the capabilities suggested by General Sykes.
In 1914, the average endurance of the Zeppelin
at cruising speed was under one day and the
maximum full speed about 50 miles per hour.
In 1918, the German L 70, which is of
2,195,000 cubic feet capacity, the endur-
ance at 45 miles per hour has risen to 7.4
days and the maximum full speed to 77
miles per hour. The "ceiling" has corres-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 219

pondingly increased from 6,000 feet to
23,000 feet.

The British R 38 class, at present building,
with a capacity of approximately 2f million
cubic feet has an estimated endurance at 45
miles per hour of 211 hours or 8.8 days, which
is 34 hours greater than the German L 70
class. It is evident that for a ship of this
calibre the crossing of the Atlantic will
possess no difficulty, and as an instance of
what has already been accomplished in the
way of a long-distance flight the exploit of a
Zeppelin airship based in Bulgaria during the
war is sufficiently remarkable. This airship
in the autumn of 1917 left the station at
Jamboli to carry twelve tons of ammunition
for the relief of a force operating in German
East Africa. Having crossed the Mediter-
ranean, she proceeded up the course of the
Nile until she had reached the upper waters
of this river. Information was then received by
wireless of the svirrender of the force, and that
its commander. Von Lettow, was a fugitive in
the bush. She thereupon set out for home and
reached her station in safety, having been in
the air 96 hours, or four days, without landing.

220 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

It is therefore patent that in R 33 and R 34
we possess two airships which can cross to
America to-morrow as far as actual distance
is concerned, but various other conditions
are necessary before such voyages can be
undertaken with any prospects of commercial
success.

The distance between England and America
must be roughly taken as 3,000 miles. It is
not reasonable for airship stations to be
situated either in the inaccessible extreme
west of Ireland or among the prevailing fogs
of Newfoundland.

Weather conditions must also be taken into
account ; head winds may prevail, rendering
the forward speed of the ship to be small
even with the engines running full out. In
calculations it is considered that the following
assvimptions should be made :

1. At least 75 per cent, additional petrol
to be carried as would be necessary
for the passage in calm air, should
unfavourable weather conditions be
met. This amount could be reduced
to 50 per cent, in future airships with
a speed of upwards of 80 miles per hour.

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 221

2. About a quarter of the total discharge-
able lift of the ship should be in the
form of merchandise or passengers to
render the project a reasonable com-
mercial proposition.

We will consider the commercial loads
that can be carried by the German airship
L 70 and our airships R 33 and R 38 under
the conditions given above. Two speeds
will be taken for the purposes of this com-
parison : normal full speed, or about 60 miles
per hour, and cruising speed of 45 miles per
hour.

L. 70. — At 60 miles per horn* a distance of 3,000
miles will be accomplished in 50 horn's.

Fuel consumption about

13 tons .. .. + 9.75 tons (addi-

tional for

safety) =
22.75 tons.

Available lift for fuel and

freight .. .. = 27.8 tons.

Fuel carried .. ..= 22.75 ,,

Balance for freight . . = 5 ,, about.

222 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

At 45 miles per hour, distance will be accomplished
in 66.6 hours.

Fuel consumption about

10 tons .. .. + 7 . 5 tons additional

=17.5 tons.
Available lift .. .. = 27.8 tons.

Fuel carried .. .. = 17.5

Balance for freight . . = 10 ,, about.

R. 33. — At 60 miles per hour.

Fuel consumption 14.25

tons . . . . . . + 10 . 68 tons addi-

tional =24. 93
tons.
Lift available for fuel and

freight . . . . . . = 21 . 5 tons.

Fuel carried .. .. =24.93 „

Minus balance . . . . = 3 . 43

At 45 miles per hour.

Fuel consumption 9 . 66

tons .. .. + 7.23 tons (17 tons

approx.)

Lift available for fuel and

freight.. .. .. = 21.5 tons.

Fuel carried . . . . = 17

Balance for freight . . = 4.5

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 223

R. 38. — Estimated only. At 60 miles per hour.

Fuel consumption 20 tons -{-15 tons additional
= 35 tons.

Lift available for fuel and

freight . . . . = 42 tons.

Fuel carried . . . . = 35

Balance for freight . . = 7

At 45 miles per hour.

Fuel consumption 12 tons + 9 tons additional
= 21 tons.

Lift available for fuel and

freight.. .. . . = 42 tons.

Fuel carried . . . . = 21 „

Balance for freight . . =21

It will thus be seen that at the faster speed
small commercial loads can be carried by
L 70 and R 88 and not at all in the case of
R 83, that is assuming, of course, that the
extra fuel is carried, of which 75 per cent, of
the total does not appear at all excessive in
view of the weather continually experienced
over the Atlantic.

At the cruising speed the loads naturally
increase but still, in L 70, and more particularly

224 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

in R 33, they are too small to be considered
commercially. In R 38, however, the load
that can be carried at cruising speed is
sufficient to become a commercial proposi-
tion.

From this short statement it is evident
that, by a comparatively small increase in
volume, the lifting capacity of an airship is
enormously increased, and it is in this subject
that the airship possesses such undoubted
advantage over the aeroplane. In the
heavier-than-air machine there is no auto-
matic improvement in efficiency resulting
from greater dimensions. In the airship,
however, this automatic improvement takes
place in a very marked degree ; for example,
an airship of 10,000,000 cubic feet capacity
has five times the lift of the present 2,000,000
cubic feet capacity rigid, but the length of the
former is only 1.7 times greater, and therefore
the weight of the structiu-e only five times
greater (1.7); that is, the weight of the struc-
ture is directly proportional to the total lift.
Having seen that the total lift varies as
the cube of the linear dimensions while air
resistance, B.H.P. — other things being equal

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 225

— vary as the square of the hnear dimensions,

.. ^ „ , , . weight of machinery

it follows that the ratio r-—

total lilt

decreases automatically.

In comparing the different methods of
transport for efficiency, the resistance or
thrust required is compared as a percentage
of the total weight. The result obtained is
known as the " co-efficient of tractive resist-
ance." Experiments have shown that as
the size of the airship increases, the co-
efficient of tractive resistance decreases to a
marked extent ; with a proportionate increase
in horse-power it is proportionally more
economical for a 10,000,000 cubic feet capacity
rigid to fly at 80 miles per hoiu' than for a
2,000,000 cubic feet capacity to fly at 60
miles per hour.

. weight structure . . . , .

As the ratio — z-^rz — — is in airships

total lift ^

fairly constant, it follows that the ratio

disposable lift . . , , t

— — increases with the dimensions.

total lift

It is therefore obvious that increased bene-
fits are obtained by building airships of a
larger size, and that the bigger the ship the

226 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

greater will be its efficiency, providing, of
course, that it is kept within such limits that
it can be handled on the ground and man-
oeuvred in the air.

The proportion of the useful lift in a large
rigid, that is the hft available for fuel, crew,
passengers, and merchandise, is well over 50
per cent, when compared with the gross lift.
Wlien the accompanying table is studied it
will be seen that with airships of large capacity
the available lift will be such that consider-
able weights of merchandise or passengers
can be carried.

Capacity in

Gross Lift

Length

Diameter

cubic feet

in tons

in feet

in feet

2,000,000

60.7

643

79

3,000,000

91.1

736

90.4

4,000,000

121.4

810

99.5

5,000,000

151.8

872

107.2

6,000,000

182.2

927

113.9

7,000,000

212.5

976

119.9

8,000,000

242.8

1,021

125.5

9,000,000

273.3

1,061

130.4

10,000,000

303.6

1,100

135.1

In airships of their present capacity, in
order to obtain the greatest amount of lift

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 227

possible, lightness of construction has been
of paramount importance. With this object
in view duralumin has been used, and com-
plicated girders built up to obtain strength
without increase of weight. In a large ship
with a considerable gain in hft, steel will
probably be employed with a simpler form
of girder work. In that way cheapness of
construction will be effected together with
increased rapidity of output, and in addition
the strength of the whole structure should
be increased.

The rigid airship of 10,000,000 cubic feet
capacity will have a disposable lift of over
200 tons available for fuel, crew, passengers,
and merchandise in such proportions as are
desired. The endurance of such a ship at a
cruising speed of 45 miles per hour will be
in the neighbourhood of three weeks, with a
maximum speed of 70 to 80 miles per hour,
and a " ceiHng " of some 30,000 feet can be
reached. This will give a range of over 20,000
miles, or very nearly a complete circuit of the
globe.

For commercial purposes the possibilities
of such a craft are enormous, and the uses to

228 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

which it could be put are manifestly of great
importance. Urgent mails and passengers
could be transported from England to America
in under half the time at present taken by the
steamship routes, and any city in the world
could be reached from London in a fortnight.

In the event of war in the future, which may
be waged with a nation situated at a greater
distance from this country than was Germany,
aircraft of long endurance will be necessary
both for scouting in conjunction with our
fleets and convoy duties. The British Em-
pire is widely scattered, and large tracts of
ocean lie between the various colonies, all
of which will require protection for the safe-
guarding of our merchant shipping. The
provision of a force of these large airships
will greatly add to the security of our out-
lying dominions.

We have now reached a point where it is
incumbent on us to face certain difficulties
which beset the airship of large dimensions,
and which are always magnified by its
detractors. Firstly, there is the expense of
sheds in which to house it ; secondly, the
large number of trained personnel to assist

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 229

in landing and handling it when on the
ground ; thirdly, the risks attendant on the
weather — for the airship is still considered by
the general public as a fair-weather craft ;
and fourthly, though this is principally in
connection with its efficiency for military
purposes, its vulnerability. We will deal
with the four difficulties enumerated under
these headings seriatim, and endeavour to
show to what extent they may be surmounted
if not entirely removed.

The solution of the first two problems may
be summed up in two words : " mooring out " ;
on the success of this it is considered that the
whole future of airships for commercial pur-
poses rests. It will be essential that in every
country which the airship visits on its voy-
ages, one large central station is established
for housing and repairs. The position of
such a station is dependent on good weather
conditions and the best railway facilities
possible. In all respects this station will be
comparable to a dry dock for surface vessels.
The airship will be taken into the shed for
overhaul of hull structure, renewing of gas-
bags or outer cover, and in short to undergo

230 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

a periodical refit. The cost of a shed
capable of housing two rigid airships, even
at the present time, should not greatly
exceed £500,000. This sum, though con-
siderable, is but a small item compared with
the cost of constructing docks to accommodate
the Atlantic liner, and when once completed
the cost of maintenance is small when
weighed against the amount annually ex-
pended in dredging and making good the
wear and tear of a dock.

Apart from these occasional visits to a
shed, the airship, in the ordinary way at the
end of a voyage, will pick up its moorings as
does the big steamer, and land its passengers
and cargo, at the same time replenishing its
suppHes of fuel, gas, provisions, etc., while
minor repairs to the machinery can be
carried out as she rides in the air.

A completely satisfactory solution of the
mooring problem for the rigid airship has
yet to reach its consummation. We saw
in the previous chapter how, in the case of
small non-rigids, they were sheltered in
berths cut into woods or belts of trees, but
for the rigid airship something more secure

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 231

and less at the mercy of the elements is
required.

At the present moment three systems of
mooring are in an experimental stage: one,
known as " the single-wire system," is now
practically acknowledged to fall short of
perfection ; the second, " the three-wire
system," and the third, "mooring to a mast,"
both have their champions, but it is probable
that the last will be the one finally chosen,
and when thoroughly tried out with its im-
perfections eliminated will satisfy the most
exacting critics.

The single-wire system is at the same time
the simplest and most obvious method which
suggests itself, and means that the ship is
secured by a wire cable attached to a suitable
point in the ship and led to some fixed point
on the ground. It has been found that an
airship secured in this way requires constant
attention, and that steering is always neces-
sary to render her steady in the air. Consider-
able improvement is obtained if a dragging
weight is added to the wire, as it tends to
check to a considerable extent lateral motion
of the bow of the ship.

232 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

The three-wire system is an adaptation
and an improvement on the one previously
mentioned. In this case the mooring point
of the ship is attached to three long wire
cables, which, when raised in the air, form a
pyramid to the head of which the ship is
attached. These wires are led to bollards
which form in plan an equilateral triangle.
The lift of the ship raises these wires off the
ground, and if the ship is trimmed up by the
bows she will be found to resist the action
of the wind. A rigid airship moored out by
this method remained in the open for a
considerable time and rendered the future of
this experiment most hopeful. It was re-
solved to continue these experiments by
adding a subsidiary system of wires with
running blocks, the whole wiring to form a
polygon revolving round a fixed centre. The
disadvantages of this method appear to be
rather serious. It seems that great difficulty
will always be found in picking up these
moorings in a high wind, and though this
also applies to the method with the mast, the
initial obstacles do not appear to be so great.
A powerful engine driving a winch will be

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 233

necessary to raise these heavy wires from the
ground, although of course the hft of the
airship will assist in this. Secondly, the
lowering of passengers and cargo will not be
easy as the ship will not be rigidly secured.
This, however, can probably be managed
when experiments have reached a further
stage, and at present the system may be
said to present distinct possibilities.

The third system, that of mooring to a
mast, possesses several features peculiar to
itself, and not embraced by the other two,
which should secure it prolonged investiga-
tions. The system is by no means new and
has been tried from time to time for several
years, but since the question of mooring in
the open has been so ventilated and is now
considered of such vital importance, these
experiments have been continued, and in less
spasmodic fashion than in the past. In a
trial with a small non-rigid airship some
months ago a signal success was achieved.
The ship remained attached to a mast in open
country with no protection whatsoever for
six weeks in two of the worst months of the
year. During this period two men only were

234 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

required to look after the ship, which experi-
enced gales in which the force of the wind
rose to 52 miles per hour, and not the slightest
damage was sustained.

Two or three methods of attaching the
airship to the mast have been proposed, but
the one which appears to be most practical
is to attach the extreme bow point of the
ship to some form of cap^ in which the nose
of the ship will fit, and mil revolve round the
top of the mast in accordance with the direc-
tion of the wind.

For large airships, employed as passenger
and commerce carriers, we can imagine the
mast advanced a stage further and trans-
formed into a tower with a revolving head.
Incorporated in this tower will be a lift for
passengers and luggage, pipes also will be
led to the summit through which both gas
and water can be pumped into the ship.
With the airship rigidly held at the head of
such a structure all the difficulties of changing
crews, embarking and disembarking passen-
gers, shipping and discharging cargo and
also refuelling, vanish at once. Assuming
the mooring problem solved with success, and

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 235

we feel correct in this assumption, the first
two of our difficulties automatically dis-
appear. Sheds will only be necessary as
repair depots and will not be extensively
required, all intermediate stopping places
being provided with masts and necessary
arrangements for taking in gas, etc. At
these intermediate stations the number of
men employed will be comparatively speak-
ing few. At the depots or repair stations
the number must, of course, be considerably
increased, but the provision of an enormous
handling party will not be necessary. At
present large numbers of men are only
required to take a large airship in or out of a
shed when the wind is blowing in a direction
across the shed ; when these conditions
prevail the airship will, unless compelled by
accident or other unforeseen circumstances,
remain moored out in the open until the
direction of the wind has changed.

Mechanical traction will also help effect-
ually in handling airships on the ground, and
the difficulty of taking them in and out of
sheds has always been unduly magnified.
The provision of track rails and travellers

236 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

to which the guys of the ship can be attached,
as is the practice in Germany, will tend to
eliminate the source of trouble.

We must now consider the effect that
weather will have on the big airship. In the
past it has been a great handicap owing to
the short hours of endurance, with the result-
ing probability of the ship having to land
before the wind dropped and being wrecked
in consequence. Bad weather will not en-
danger the big airship in flight, and its
endurance will be such that, should it
encounter bad weather, it will be able to
wait for a lull to land. Meteorological fore-
casts have now reached a high state of
efficiency, and it should be possible for ample
warnings to be received of depressions to be
met with during a voyage, and these will
be avoided by the airship flying round them.
In the northern hemisphere, depressions
generally travel from west to east and in-
variably rotate in a counter-clockwise direc-
tion with the wind on the south side blowing
from the west and on the north side blowing
from the east. Going west, the airship would
fly to the north of a depression to take ad-

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 237

vantage of the wind circulating round the
edge, and going east the southern course
would be taken.

Lastly, the vulnerability of the airship
must be taken into account. Hydrogen is,
as everyone knows, most highly inflammable
when mixed with air. The public still feels
uncomfortable misgivings at the close
proximity of an immense volume of gas to
a number of running engines. It may be
said that the danger of disaster due to the
gas catching fire is for peace flying to all
intents and purposes negligible. At the
risk of being thought hackneyed we must
point out a fact which has appeared in every
discussion of the kind, namely, that British
airships flew during the war some 2 J million
miles, and there is only one case of an airship
catching fire in the air. This was during a
trial flight in a purely experimental ship, and
the cause which was afterwards discovered
has been completely eliminated.

For airships employed for military pur-
poses this danger, due to the use of incendiary
bullets, rockets and various other munitions
evolved for their destruction, still exists.

238 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

Owing to its ceiling, rate of climb and speed,
which we take to be from 70 to 80 miles per
hour in the airship of the future, the airship
may be regarded as comparatively safe against
attack from the ordinary type of seaplane.
The chief danger to be apprehended is attack
from small scouting seaplanes, possessing great
speed and the power to climb to a great
height, or from aeroplanes launched from the
decks of ships. If, however, the airship is
fitted to carry several small scout aeroplanes
of high efficiency in the manner described
in the previous chapter, it will probably be
able to defend itself sufficiently to enable it
to chmb to a great height and thus make
good its escape.

The airship, moreover, will be more or
less immune from such dangers if the non-
inflamable gas, known as " C " gas, becomes
sufficiently cheap to be used for inflating
airships. In the past the expense of this gas
has rendered its use absolutely prohibitive,
but it is believed that it can be produced in
the United States for such a figure as will
make it compare favourably with hydrogen.

The navigation of an airship dming these

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 239

long voyages proposed will present no diffi-
culty whatever. The airship, as opposed to
the aeroplane, is reasonably steady in the air
ana the ordinary naval instruments can be
used. In addition, "directional" wireless
telegraphy will prove of immense assistance.
The method at present in use is to call up
simultaneously two land stations which, know-
ing their own distance apart, and reading the
direction of the call, plot a triangle on a
chart which fixes the position of the airship.
This position is then transmitted by wireless
to the airship. In the future the airship
itself will carry its own directional apparatus,
with which it will be able to judge the direc-
tion of a call received from a single land
station and plot its own position on a chart.

We have so far confined our attention to
the utilization of airships for transport of
passengers, mails and goods, but there appear
to be other fields of activity which can be
exploited in times of peace. The photo-
graphic work carried out by aeroplanes
during the war on the western front and in
Syria and Mesopotamia has shown the value
of aerial photography for map making

240 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

and preliminary surveys of virgin country.
Photography of broken country and vast
tracks of forest can be much more easily
undertaken from an airship than an aeroplane,
on account of its power to hover for prolonged
periods over any given area and its greater
powers of endurance. For exploring the
unmapped regions of the Amazon or the
upper reaches of the Chinese rivers the air-
ship offers unbounded facilities. Another
scope suggested by the above is searching
for pearl-oyster beds, sunken treasure, and
assisting in salvage operations. Owing to
the clearness of the water in tropical regions,
objects can be located at a great depth when
viewed from the air, and it is imagined that
an airship will be of great assistance in
searching for likely places. Sponges and
coral are also obtained by diving, and here
the airship's co-operation will be of value.
Small ships such as the S.S. Zero would be
ideal craft for these and similar operations.

The mine patrol, as maintained by airships
during the war, encourages the opinion that a
systematic search for icebergs in the northern
Atlantic might be carried out by airships

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 241

during certain months of the year. As is
well known, icebergs are a source of great
danger to shipping in these waters during
the late spring and summer ; if the situation
becomes bad the main shipping routes are
altered and a southerly course is taken which
adds considerably to the length of the voyage.
The proposal put forward is that during
these months as continuous a patrol as
possible should be carried out over these
waters. The airship employed could be based
in Newfoundland and the method of working
would be very similar to anti-submarine
patrol. Fixes could be obtained from D.F.
stations and warnings issued by wireless
telegraphy. Ice is chiefly found within five
hundred miles of the coast of Newfoundland,
so that this work would come within the
scope of the N.S. airship. The knowledge
that reliable information concerning the
presence of ice will always be to hand would
prove of inestimable value to the captains of
Atlantic liners, and would also relieve the
shipping companies and the public of great
anxiety.

There are possibly many other uses to

242 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

which airships can be put such as the policing
of wide stretches of desert country as in
Arabia and the Soudan. The merits of all
of these will doubtless be considered in due
course and there for the present we must
leave them.

Finally, a few words must be written
regarding the means to be adopted in intro-
ducing the airship into the realms of com-
merce. As we said at the beginning of the
chapter it is not likely that the formation of
a company to exploit airships only will at
the present moment appeal to business men.
Airships are very costly and are still in their
infancy, which means that the premiums
demanded for their insurance must of neces-
sity be enormous. One suggestion is to
place a reasonable scheme before the great
shipping companies in case they will care to
find the necessary capital and form subsidiary
companies.

Another suggestion is that the Government
should make arrangements to subsidize com-
mercial airships. The subsidy might take
the form of insuring them. If the burden
of insurance is taken off their shoulders, it is

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 243

considered feasible to promote companies
which will give an adequate return for capital
invested. The Government could also give
a financial guarantee if mails are carried, in
the same manner as is done by shipping
companies.

In return for this the Government could
at the outbreak of hostilities commandeer
all or any of the airships for war purposes and
so save the number to be kept in commission.

By this means the Government will have
a large number of highly -trained and efficient
personnel to call upon when the emergency
arises, in the same way as the fleet can call
upon the R.N.R. This system appears to be
the best in every respect, and it cannot be
denied that in the long run it would be the
most economical for the country.

The airship has now arrived at the parting
of the ways, and at this point we must leave
it. The flying in war has been concluded,
the flying in peace has not yet commenced.
It seems a far cry to the dark days of 1914,
when we only possessed two airships of
utility, the one manufactured in France, the
other in Germany, while to-day we have

244 BRITISH AIRSHIPS

built the mighty airship which can fly to
America and back. We are now at the
dawn of a new period of reconstruction and
progress, and during this period many won-
derful things will happen. Not the least of
these will be the development of the airship.

TL

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